Rafaela's 1st career grand slam fuels Boston's 10th straight road win

WEST SACRAMENTO – The fifth spot in the lineup looks like it’s going to suit Ceddanne Rafaela just fine in his breakout season at the plate.

The All-Star center fielder had been interim manager Chad Tracy’s No. 2 hitter for Boston’s torrid run over the last month-plus.

But with new addition Curtis Mead, who left the game in the fifth inning with a left wrist contusion, added to the mix for his debut on Monday, Rafaela moved to another impact spot in the lineup and delivered his first career grand slam in the process, lifting the rolling Red Sox to a 4-2 victory at Sutter Health Park.

Boston (55-50) continues to surge following a disappointing 32-46 start. Since June 25, Tracy’s squad is 23-4, including 10-0 on the road.

The Red Sox didn’t have so much as a hit in the first five innings. But Connor Wong’s double to open the sixth against Athletics righty Jack Perkins created some momentum. Willson Contreras and Wilyer Abreu drew two-out walks.

Up stepped Rafaela against lefty reliever José Suarez and lofted a 2-0 slider that ticked off the glove of left fielder Colby Thomas, as the Red Sox instantly turned a 1-0 deficit into a 4-1 lead.

Per Statcast, Rafaela’s 11th homer of the season had a launch angle of 40 degrees, an expected batting average of .100 and a hang time of 5.9 seconds.

Coming into the night, Rafaela was a career .355 hitter with the bases juiced, including an .827 OPS. The only thing missing was a grand slam, which has now been added to his growing résumé.

The game-breaking granny by Rafaela made a winner out of Payton Tolle, who held the Athletics to two runs (both solo homers) over 5 1/3 innings in which he walked one and struck out seven.