BOSTON — Amed Rosario’s two-out, two-run triple in the first inning had a .940 expected batting average but center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela almost caught it.
Rafaela fully extended in the air but Rosario’s line drive deflected off the top of the center fielder’s glove and into right field. Wilyer Abreu, who backed up Rafaela, had to sprint back into right field to chase it.
The 23-year-old rookie came within centimeters of helping starter Kutter Crawford escape the first inning without allowing a run. Instead, the Rays put a three spot on the scoreboard and won 5-3 over the Red Sox at Fenway Park on Monday.
“Off the bat, I was like, ‘That ball’s down,’” Crawford said. “And as I started to take a few steps to go back up third or home or wherever it was going to be, I noticed the ball started to hang up a little bit and Rafaela just gaining ground on it. And obviously he Superman dove and it hit off his glove. But it was impressive to see him gain ground on that ball and even give himself a chance to make that play.”
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Manager Alex Cora said Rafaela almost made the catch because he got an excellent jump, something he’s “really good” at doing.
“He gets moving,” Cora said. “He closes the gap very fast. That’s the cool thing about him. He hasn’t played the outfield in a while and he almost made two great plays in consecutive days.”
Rafaela — who has made 17 of his past 21 starts at shortstop — flipped over the right field wall into the bullpen trying to steal a home run when he started Sunday’s game in center field.
“We talk about versatility and the fact that we can move him around … it helps us,” Cora said. “The kid is really good defensively.”
Crawford didn’t have his best stuff, throwing 35 pitches during the three-run first inning. But he still went 6 innings and threw a career-high 101 pitches. He pointed to his two-out walk to Harold Ramírez right before Rosario’s triple as what led to the Rays scoring three times in the first inning.
“Obviously the two-out walk was kind of the icing on the cake as far as getting myself in trouble,” Crawford said. “I felt like they were kind of taking my spin away from me on the outside half of the plate — kind of leaning out there, shooting stuff the other way. But yeah, I think it all kind of started with falling behind. I was kind of throwing across my body a little bit there in the first with the four-seam and everything. Kind of just fighting that. But yeah, just kind of falling behind there in the first and obviously it led to a long inning.”
