Rookie Leading Red Sox Recent Hot Stretch
Entering June, the Boston Red Sox sat at 29-29. It was a familiar position for the franchise, who have hit the .500 mark 18 times this season. It seemed farfetched that Boston could string together a consistent and elongated run of wins. But once the middle of the month arrived, the Red Sox were ready to push for it. Thankfully for the club, so was its youngest player. Boston has won eight of its last nine contests entering Friday’s matchup with the Cincinnati Reds. And rookie Ceddanne Rafaela is leading the Red Sox’s recent hot streak.
Ceddanne Rafaela
Leading Red Sox Recent Hot Stretch
With how Rafaela has performed in the last week, it’s hard to believe he was batting .210 with a sub-.600 OPS eight days ago. The 23-year-old is in the midst of the hottest stretch of his professional career. Rafaela is on a seven-game hitting streak, including six multi-hit contests. He’s raised his average significantly and is producing at a dominant level for someone hitting the bottom of the lineup. During Rafaela’s streak, he’s batting an astonishing .615 with 16 hits, four RBI, two walks, and a home run. Boston won all but one of those contests.
The hot stretch began against the Philadelphia Phillies on June 12. In an 8-6 victory, Rafaela had two hits and scored a run. He had another two-knock day in a series-clinching win over Philadelphia. A change of opponent didn’t matter much to Rafaela, who continued raking against the AL-leading New York Yankees. After securing one hit in the first contest of a three-game set, the Curacao native went 6-8 with two three-hit matchups against the Bronx Bombers. As the nine hitter, Rafaela was getting on in a big way for the top of the lineup. He exited the home series against New York with a .238 batting average for the year.
The bat stayed hot when the Red Sox traveled across the border to face the Toronto Blue Jays. Rafaela hit his first home run of the month on June 17 with a towering shot. He ended the day with two hits and a walk. The next day, he recorded three knocks and four total bases. Despite receiving an off-day in the final game of the series, where the Sox swept the Jays, Rafaela’s damage was felt. He touched nine bases in two games and raised his season average to .251.
