LOS ANGELES - Just moments after he had lifted the Red Sox to their 9-4 win over the world champion Dodgers Friday night, Ceddanne Rafaela took a moment to reflect.
While the two-run homer in the seventh inning by Rafaela almost seemed commonplace for the outfielder, who had played a key role in lifting his team to a franchise record for fewest losses in July, finishing the month at 21-4. And doing it at Dodger Stadium certainly wasn't an aberration for Rafaela, considering he is now 8-for-16 in four games at Chavez Ravine.
But as was the case with these Red Sox, it wasn't always like this for Rafaela.
The memory that came flooding back in front of his locker in the visitors' clubhouse was that of playing at Dodger Stadium for the very first time. That would have been in the 2022 Futures Game, when Rafaela struck out in both of his at-bats on just six pitches.
"I do feel like it was long ago," Rafaela told WEEI.com regarding the All-Star exhibition. "Sometimes time flies, and you don't realize, but it's good to sit back and see where God put us."
It's a quote that fits perfectly for the player and for his team.
It wasn't only a healthy exercise to soak in how far Rafaela has come, with the 25-year-old All-Star landing as one of the undisputed best all-around centerfielders in Major League Baseball, but with July now in the rearview mirror, a healthy look at what just transpired with this team is a worthwhile endeavor.
The Red Sox, a team that found itself 14 games under .500 on June 18, still not having won more than three games in a row, are firmly in the conversation for best team in the American League with a 58-51 record. They are 26-5 dating back to June 25, having now gone 8-0 against division leaders during that stretch, with a four-game sweep of the Yankees mixed in, as well.
And just for good measure, Friday night presented the perfect punctuation: A 9-4 win over the team that could have been the first in MLB this season to reach 70 wins, the Dodgers.
Newly-promoted Nick Sogard led off and scored two runs.
Andruw Monasterio capped one of the best Julys by any shortstop with a pair of outstanding defensive plays and a key, two-run double.
Three players who had been in the crosshairs of fans throughout the team's early struggles - Jarren Duran, Masa Yoshida and Caleb Durbin - combined to go 6-for-13.
And Brayan Bello, the somewhat forgotten piece of the pitching staff, came on to finish things off for Ranger Suarez with four shutout innings despite having pitched once since July 12.
The 15-game win streak was a memory nobody will forget. But the unforgettable checkpoints are starting to pile up. Case in point, Rafaela's three-hit game and the Red Sox's latest flag in the ground.
"Obviously, the month of July was incredible and necessary for where we were at," said Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy. "We probably didn't have to do that well, but it was necessary that we play better and went on a run. We went on a run, and we have to continue to do that now because we're playing very, very good baseball."
---
Willson Contreras was forced from the game after being hit in the head with a 95.4 mph fastball from Dodgers reliever Will Klein in the third inning. The first baseman will be re-evaluated for any concussion symptoms Saturday.
