BOSTON — The Red Sox haven’t gotten much from Ceddanne Rafaela out of the No. 9 spot in their lineup. But if he can occasionally run into one — or two, like he did Friday — it’ll be a much-welcomed bonus for an offense that spent most of May sputtering.
Rafaela launched two homers — including a go-ahead three-run shot — into the Monster seats as the Red Sox cruised to a 7-3 win over the Tigers. The blasts extended Rafaela’s lead over all rookies (and the team) by giving him 33 RBIs and made sure another excellent start by Tanner Houck (1 run, 3 hits in 7 strong innings) wouldn’t be spoiled. The Red Sox — wait for it — got back to .500 at 29-29; they ended May with a record of 12-16.
