BOSTON (AP) — Ceddanne Rafaela hit a two-run, walk-off home run in the ninth inning and the Boston Red Sox extended their winning streak to a season-best eight games with a 5-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night.
Rafaela had already extended his RBI streak to seven games when he turned on a slider thrown by Tampa Bay closer Pete Fairbanks (4-3) and sent it over the Green Monster for his 13th homer of the season.
Reinstated off the Injured List before the game, Red Sox All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman went 1 for 4 with a double off the Green Monster.
Tampa Bay scored in the first inning against Red Sox starter Hunter Dobbins, who left the game an inning later due to right knee pain. Chris Murphy (2-0) was one of six relievers used by the Red Sox after Dobbins departed.
Boston tied it in the second behind Rafaela’s RBI single, but Tampa Bay pushed across three unearned runs to break a 1-1 game in the third.
Boston got to within 4-3 in the fourth when rookie Marcelo Mayer doubled in a run and Abraham Toro followed with an RBI grounder.