BOSTON – This magical run for the Red Sox just doesn’t seem to want to end.
As a 13-1 victory over the Athletics swelled the club’s latest winning streak to nine games, the Sox improved to 27-3 since July 3 and 32-5 since June 25. That 30-game run and 37-game stretch are both the best in franchise history for those spans.
Here were some key takeaways witnessed by the latest Fenway sellout of 37,227.
1. Rafaela adds to highlight reel
Jonathan Ornelas thought for sure he had a hit with two outs in the top of the third, when he ripped one into the gap in right-center field. So, too, did Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy. But center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela, who looks primed to win his second consecutive Gold Glove Award, had other ideas.
“I don’t know how he caught that ball,” said Tracy. “When it came off the bat, the ball was hit so low that I was like, ‘OK, it’s [a] line-drive single,’ and sure enough, he caught it. I don’t know why I doubt him at this point. He usually catches every one that I think is a hit. He’s pretty good.”
Left fielder Jarren Duran watched in awe.
“I’d like to say it’s amazing but he does it so routinely,” Duran said. “It’s become a very common thing. I should probably be running that way to back [Rafaela] up but I always catch myself just watching because I know he’s about to make a sick play. He’s got a Gold Glove for a reason.”
2. A batting barrage
While Payton Tolle turned in a six-inning masterpiece from the mound, his offense made it a stress-free night, scoring five in the second and four in the fourth.
Boston’s bats, under scrutiny during the team’s struggles through the first three months of the season, continue to shine lately.
The club scored a wild 12-11 victory in 13 innings over the White Sox on Thursday before coming back with 13 runs and 15 hits to blow out the A’s.
It marked the first time the club scored 12 runs or more in back-to-back games since May 9-11, 2016, when a loaded lineup that had David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts did it in three straight contests.
3. Don’t sell Monasterio short
For all the talk about the Red Sox needing a shortstop going into the Trade Deadline (they didn’t end up finding one), Andruw Monasterio continues to belt the baseball while playing nearly every day.
In a career-long 19-game on-base streak that started on July 11, Monasterio is batting .400 (26-for-65) with a 1.145 OPS, adding in 12 runs, 10 doubles, one triple, two homers, 16 RBIs and eight walks. It ties Willson Contreras (May 16-June 8) for the longest on-base streak by a Sox player this year.
