Boston Red Sox’s Masataka Yoshida (7) hits a single during the second inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Wednesday, July 3, 2024, in Miami.
13:19 JST, July 4, 2024
MIAMI (AP) — Ceddanne Rafaela tripled, doubled and drove in three runs, Brayan Bello limited Miami to one run in 6 2/3 innings and the Boston Red Sox defeated the Marlins 7-2 on Wednesday night.
Rafael Devers and Masataka Yoshida each had two hits and two RBIs, helping the Red Sox record their third straight win after a three-game losing streak.
“We’re getting better as a team, as a whole,” Devers said. “We’re playing better defense. We’re aggressively running the bases. Those are the things that help us be where we are.”
In his first start since June 25, Bello (8-5) surrendered seven hits, walked one and struck out seven. The right-handed pitcher’s previous outing was skipped to help him overcome a rough patch in which he lost three of four decisions.
“It feels good to be able to have a successful start,” Bello said. “All the work we have done has paid off,”
Bello settled in after allowing three hits to Miami’s first four batters, and he collected four singles the rest of his outing.
“I kept attacking the batters — that was the biggest adjustment,” Bello said. “That’s one of the things I haven’t done since the beginning of the year.”
Red Sox center fielder Jarren Duran and left fielder Rob Refsnyder robbed Miami’s Josh Bell of extra-base hits with eye-catching defensive plays. Duran ran and followed Bell’s drive to the wall in the sixth, and Refsnyder dove to catch a line drive in the eighth.
Boston capitalized on an ineffective road game by Miami starter Trevor Rogers (1-9) with five hits and three walks in the first three innings. Run-scoring singles by Devers and Yoshida in the third inning erased an early deficit and put Boston ahead 2-1.
“We’ve done a good job of getting long at-bats,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “Getting to the bullpen that early, that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re going to go at it hard today.”
Yoshida’s RBI groundout in the seventh made it 3-1. The Red Sox broke it open with Devers’ run-scoring triple and Rafaela’s three-run double in the ninth. It was Devers’ fourth triple of the season and the 11th of his career.
“I don’t really like them, I’m over 200 pounds and when I have to run from home to third base, I get a little tired of it,” Devers said of the triples. “I’m going to bed right now.”
Rogers was ejected after three innings and 84 pitches, ending his streak of three consecutive starts of at least six innings.
“I actually thought it might have been his best thing of the year,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “Unfortunately, the line definitely doesn’t show that. The walks hurt him, that’s for sure.”
The Marlins struck quickly against Bello with an RBI single by Jesús Sánchez in the first inning.
Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the game. Ward transferred to Miami after two successful seasons at Washington State, where he threw for 6,966 yards and 48 touchdowns.
