BOSTON – Ceddanne Rafaela hit a home run around the “Pesky Pole” in the bottom of the ninth inning this Wednesday, and the Boston Red Sox rallied after trailing by as many as four different times to defeat the Los Angeles Angels with a score of 11-9.
The home run to right field had a distance of only 308 feet, becoming the shortest walk-off home run in the Statcast era (since 2015), surpassing the next closest by 24 feet.
This hit would have been a home run in only one Major League stadium: Fenway. In addition, it was the second shortest home run hit by any player in the Statcast era, surpassed only by Stephen Vogt of the San Francisco Giants (307 feet on September 18, 2019, at Fenway).
The Angels squandered leads of 4-0, 7-5, 8-7, and 9-8. Rafael Devers hit a ball that bounced between the gloves of second baseman Chris Taylor and shortstop Zach Neto, tying the game 9-9 in the eighth inning.In the first three instances that the Red Sox scored, Los Angeles responded with runs of their own. However, after issuing a walk to Mike Trout to start the ninth inning, Cooper Criswell (1-0) retired the next three batters, giving Boston the opportunity to win the game.
At the bottom of the inning, Abraham Toro singled with one out, and Rafaela hit the 308-foot hit over the short fence that goes from the foul pole towards the bullpens in right field.
Rafaela became the youngest Red Sox player (24 years, 259 days) with a walk-off home run in the last 25 years.
Taylor Ward drove in four runs for the Angels, who were looking to sweep the three-game series.
