LOS ANGELES (DA) — Ceddanne Rafaela homered for the fourth time in three games and collected two hits as the Boston Red Sox defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-4.
Rafaela went 2-for-5 with two runs and one RBI, raising his batting average to .289. His solo home run leading off the third inning tied the game at 3 and extended his hitting streak to eight games.
Wilyer Abreu followed with his 17th home run, giving Boston a 4-3 lead. Masataka Yoshida added another solo shot later in the inning as the Red Sox hit back-to-back home runs for the fifth time this season.
Rafaela’s 15th home run continued his recent power surge after he hit two in Boston’s previous game. The Curaçao outfielder now has 57 RBIs and recorded his team-leading 32nd multi-hit game of the season.
Boston scored twice in the first inning before Los Angeles answered with three runs in the second. The Red Sox moved back ahead with three solo homers in the third and extended their advantage on Jarren Duran’s 14th home run in the sixth.
The Dodgers scored once in the seventh, but Boston responded with two runs in the eighth to restore its four-run lead.
Abreu and Yoshida also finished with two hits. Yoshida drove in two runs, while Abreu, Duran, Caleb Durbin and Rafaela each had one RBI.
Boston’s pitching staff held Los Angeles to four runs on nine hits. The Red Sox improved to 60-51, while the Dodgers fell to 69-42.