Ceddanne Rafaela knocked in seven of Boston’s 17 runs as the Red Sox earned a 17-0 rout of the Chicago Cubs at Fenway Park on Saturday night.
Rafaela became the fourth Red Sox player to record seven-plus RBIs at 23 years and 222 days old or younger, per Red Sox senior manager of media relations and baseball information J.P. Long. He joined Fred Lynn, Ellis Burks and Jim Tabor.
“It’s good to see the hard work pay off,” Rafaela told Jahmai Webster after the game, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “And the plan pays off. We came on the field and executed the plan. I think that’s awesome.”
Rafaela was a triple short of the cycle in the win, but the No. 9 hitter went 4-for-4 at the dish with a bases-clearing double in the fifth inning and a two-run home run in the seventh.
“I think it’s a lot of hard work,” Rafaela said. “I think every day, trust in the process in the work that I put in every day in the cage, and it’s good to see the hard work pay off.”
He is the first Boston hitter to record seven RBIs and three extra-base hits since Trevor Story launched three home runs and seven RBIs against the Seattle Mariners in 2022.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora applauded the infielder’s day at the plate but is looking forward to Rafaela building off the momentum and continuing to swing the bat in back-to-back games.
“That’s the beauty of this game, we don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow,” Cora told reporters, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “He had a good game in Pittsburgh on Saturday and then he didn’t have a good game the next day.
“We continue to work with (the young players). Give them structure, guidance and help them out. We gotta be patient.”
Here are more notes from Saturday’s Red Sox-Cubs game:
— The Red Sox set a season-high in runs (17) and hits (21). The victory was the largest margin of victory since defeating the Florida Marlins 25-8 on June 27, 2003.
— Tyler O’Neill launched his ninth home run of the season and tied George Scott for the most home runs hit by a Red Sox batter within their first 19 games.
— Wilyer Abreu went 2-for-6 at the plate and extend his streak to eight straight games with an RBI. His streak is the longest by a rookie in Red Sox franchise history and is also the longest by a Red Sox player under the age of 25, since Ted Williams in 1942.
— The Red Sox close out their series with the Cubs on Sunday night. First pitch from Fenway Park is slated for 7:10 p.m. ET, and the game will air on ESPN. The Red Sox will return to NESN’s airwaves on Tuesday night when Boston hosts the San Francisco Giants at Fenway Park.
