NORTH PORT, Fla. – Of all the things Red Sox Nation didn’t wish to see on Friday, stud outfielders Roman Anthony and Ceddanne Rafaela on the ground for multiple minutes at the same time would have topped the list.
Fortunately, a mishap in communication that led to a collision between two of the club’s most important players didn’t appear to lead to any injuries during Boston's 15-8 loss to Atlanta at CoolToday Park.
Manager Alex Cora hopes it will be a lesson learned – and fortunately, one that will seemingly come without consequences.
“Lack of communication,” said Cora. “We gotta be better. When that [communication] doesn't happen, things like that can happen.”
On a fly ball to left-center by Jurickson Profar in the bottom of the first inning, 2025 American League Gold Glove Award-winning center fielder Rafaela went over to make the catch as left fielder Anthony ran into him.
“That’s popup priority. Center fielder over left fielder. If he calls it, it’s the center fielder’s ball,” said Cora.
“We both called it, and I thought I got it, and he thought he got it. It was a misunderstanding,” Rafaela said.
As gifted as Rafaela is in center, perhaps he just needs to get louder on such a play.
“I don't know how loud you can be, but yeah, that's popup priority,” Cora said. “It’s shortstop over the third baseman, second baseman over the first baseman, center field over both corners. So we'll work on it. We'll get it right.”
For at least a couple of anxious minutes, the fear was that things had gone very wrong.
“That's our starting center fielder and left fielder. You don't want to see those guys go down, especially before the [World Baseball Classic],” said Red Sox second baseman Marcelo Mayer. “They want to represent their countries, and you don't want to see them have a small injury and then miss that tournament, or even worse, miss the season. So it's definitely a little scary. They're both strong dudes. They seem to be fine. So a big relief for the team.”
Cora took Rafaela out of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning, earlier than planned. Rafaela immediately went in and got a massage. He said his right hamstring was a bit sore, but he expects to be back in the lineup on Saturday. Anthony had three at-bats and played five innings on defense, as was the original plan.
“It just got me in a weird spot in my arm,” Anthony said. “Just one of those weird things, kind of knocked the wind out of me, and then just got me in a weird spot.”
Duran’s quest to hit lefties gains momentum
To get as much playing time against left-handers as he did last season, Jarren Duran knows he is going to need to hit more consistently against them. Boston’s outfield, in case you haven’t heard, is loaded.
Duran faced one of the toughest lefties in baseball on Friday in Chris Sale and belted a solo homer to right on a misplaced slider in the top of the first.
Last season, Duran’s OPS was .851 against righties vs. .600 against lefties.
“I feel like what we've been doing in my cage work and stuff like that is really starting to show, like, my comfortability against lefties,” said Duran. “So me and [Major League hitting strategist Joe Cronin] are just going to keep hammering it and just keep making sure we stay comfortable.”
Next for Bello? Pitching at home
One of the biggest perks of pitching for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic for Red Sox righty Brayan Bello will be the chance to start the exhibition game against the Tigers in Santo Domingo on Wednesday.
In 2024, the Red Sox played two exhibition games at Estadio Quisqueya against the Rays, but Bello was being lined up to start on Opening Day and didn’t get to pitch. It will be Bello’s first time pitching in the most famous baseball venue in the D.R.
“I feel super happy and grateful to have the opportunity to pitch in front of my home country,” said Bello. “It's going to be my first time as a big leaguer pitching in the Dominican Republic in front of my friends and family. For me, it will be very emotional, and I’m very excited to be able to pitch there.”