The kids did it again for the Boston Red Sox.
Boston extended its winning streak to eight with a 5-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night. After rookie Roman Anthony drew a walk, Ceddanne Rafaela delivered a walk-off home run at Fenway Park.
Marcelo Mayer also joined the fun with an RBI double in the fourth, and the first-year infielder notched another run-scoring double during Thursday’s seventh-inning rally to defeat Tampa Bay.
During his post-game press conference, as seen on NESN, Red Sox manager Alex Cora noted the significance of Boston’s rising stars leading the way.
“It was Marcelo, Roman and Rafaela,” Cora said. “That’s pretty young. The future of this organization is bright. The present is bright, too.”
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The oldest of the trio at age 24, Rafaela keeps making MLB look foolish for leaving him out of the All-Star Game. He’s now batting .271/.314/.477 with a team-high 3.3 WAR this season and 1.004 OPS over his last 35 games.
“He’s the best defensive center fielder in the big leagues,” Cora said of Rafaela. “He’s hitting ninth in a pretty good lineup, and I think it helps what we’re trying to accomplish. That was a great swing.”
Anthony endured some growing pains after last month’s promotion, but he’s quickly gotten comfortable against big-league pitching. The 21-year-old outfielder is batting .385/.448/.519 over his last 13 games, and he showed significant poise by drawing a crucial walk off the bench Friday night.
Despite his .273 on-base percentage, Mayer has demonstrated power while playing commendable defense at third base during Alex Bregman’s absence. The natural shortstop is changing positions again, as he played second base in Bregman’s first game back from the injured list.
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“He’s a big part of what we’re trying to accomplish now and in the future,” Cora said of Mayer before Friday’s game. “He’s a good defender. Offensively, there’s upside.”
Throw in Kristian Campbell, and the future indeed looks bright in Boston.
