Red Sox overpower Tigers with 4-run 3rd inning in latest win
The Red Sox won again Wednesday night over the Detroit Tigers, and they did most of their damage in one inning.
With runners on first and second, Red Sox center fielder Jarren Duran hit a double to left field, tying the game against the Detroit Tigers at two runs apiece. The next at bat in the bottom of the third inning drove in two more runs. Rob Refsnyder inched his two-run homer just over the green monster, giving Boston a lead it wouldn’t give back.
The four-run third inning proved pivotal for the red-hot Red Sox, who defeated the Tigers 6-2 and have now won their sixth straight series.
Refsnyder – a 31-year-old left fielder that’s on his sixth team in his eighth year – caught fire since being inserted into the lineup earlier this month.
While that home run was his first of the season, his batting average is .409 in the month of June. The sample size is very small, and he’s hitting an unsustainable average this season, but it’s a large improvement when considering his full body of work.
![BOSTON, MA - JUNE 22: Rob Refsnyder #30 of the Boston Red Sox reacts after hitting a two run home run in the third inning against the Detroit Tigers at Fenway Park on June 23, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)](https://985thesportshub.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/88/2022/06/Rob-Refsnyder-2022-Red-Sox-Tigers-June-Fenway.jpg)
BOSTON, MA – JUNE 22: Rob Refsnyder #30 of the Boston Red Sox reacts after hitting a two run home run in the third inning against the Detroit Tigers at Fenway Park on June 23, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)
In the two seasons Refsnyder has totaled over 100 at bats, he averaged .245 and .250. He’s at 27 this season, but the start is promising for a player who isn’t regarded as a consistent starter.
“So many different parts of my career early on, I wasn’t excited or happy with how I was playing,” Refnsyder said, via Julian McWilliams of Boston Globe. “So to come here and get with the staff to work on a couple of new things … player development is a big, big thing.”
Starter Michael Wacha improved to 6-1 Wednesday, allowing two runs in the top of the first and striking out seven. Wacha is also having a career-best season. His ERA (2.34) is the lowest of his career, and his WAR is already at 2.2. His highest single season WAR is 2.9 in 2015, when he started 30 games for the St. Louis Cardinals. He has 12 starts this season.
Boston rides a four-game winning streak, it’s now 39-31 and sits third in the AL East, half a game behind the second-place Toronto Blue Jays. The Red Sox start a nine-game road trip, which starts Friday night at 7:10 against the Cleveland Guardians, who are first in the AL Central at 36-28.