BOSTON — Enmanuel Valdez isn’t a prototypical No. 5 hitter or DH. He entered 14-for-91 (.154).
But Valdez, who Boston recalled from Triple-A Worcester on Wednesday to take injured Tyler O’Neill’s spot on the active roster, belted two homers and a double as the DH out of the fifth spot Saturday.
All his hits came against Tigers starter Reese Olson who entered with a 1.92 ERA. It was his third time starting a game in the five hole this season.
He helped the Red Sox to a 6-3 victory over the Tigers here at Fenway Park.
Valdez’s 399-foot home run to right-center field in the second inning tied the game 1-1. He connected on a 94.9 mph fastball from Olson. It left his bat with a 106.4 mph exit velocity.
Valdez doubled and scored on Reese McGuire’s sacrifice fly in the fourth inning to put Boston ahead 3-1.
His second homer, a two-run blast, came in the sixth inning. He hit it 318 feet, wrapping it around Pesky’s Pole. He connected on an 87 mph changeup to put Boston ahead 5-1.
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Criswell pitches well
Cooper Criswell pitched 5-plus innings, allowing one run, four hits, one walk and five strikeouts. He threw 83 pitches (53 strikes).
He threw 32 sinkers, 29 changeups, 15 sweepers and seven cutters.
Rafaela makes another amazing catch
Rafaela made a Superman catch in the sixth inning with a runner at second base and one out. He sprinted to his left and fully extended in the air to rob Wenceel Pére whose 305-foot, 95.3 mph liner had a .720 expected batting average.
Rafaela’s grab had just a 5% catch probability.
Rafaela fired to second base to double off the runner (Matt Vierling) for an inning-ending double play.
As MLB.com’s Ian Browne pointed out, only nine such plays with a 5% catch probability or less have happened in MLB this season.
Grissom leaves game with hamstring strain
Second baseman Vaughn Grissom was removed after two innings.
The Red Sox announced he has a right hamstring strain. Grissom spent the first 32 games of the season on the injured list with a left hamstring strain.
The 23-year-old grounded out to third base to end the bottom of the second inning, then didn’t return to play the field in the third inning. Connor Wong replaced him at second base.
