Red Sox’ power surge from Rob Refsnyder and Tyler O’Neill lead offense over the Orioles
Also included: Recently signed southpaw released and former WooSox infielder/outfielder makes his Mets debut
The middle of the Red Sox lineup haunted the Orioles pitching staff on Monday night in the Red Sox’ 12-3 win at Fenway Park.
Rob Refsnyder and Tyler O’Neill hit two homers each; both times, they went back-to-back. The first time was in the third inning and again in the eighth inning. The last time the Red Sox had teammates go back-to-back multiple times in a game was in 1994, when Mo Vaughn and Tim Naehring did it in the second and sixth innings in a 13-5 win over the A’s.
Refsnyder put together posted the best game of his big league career, where he went 4-for-4 with two homers, a double, a walk, and a career-best five RBI out of the No. 3 hole.
“It felt good against a really, really good team,” Refsnyder said. “The Orioles are so balanced and can beat you so many ways, so it felt good to be able to beat a team like that tonight.”
O’Neill’s two-homer night gives him 29 blasts on the season with his 3-for-5, three RBI performance on Monday night. The 29-year-old has posted seven multi-home run games in his first season with the Red Sox.
The unlikely power duo hit flexed their muscle in the third inning. Refsnyder poked a homer to center field for a two-run blast. O’Neill then deposited a Cade Povich pitch into the Green Monster Seats. In the eighth inning, Refsnyder’s second homer was wrapped around Pesky’s pole, and then O’Neill crushed a pitch 422-foot over the wall in left-center.
The 12 runs the Sox scored on Monday night were the most they’ve put up since Aug. 16.
With 18 games left on the schedule, the Red Sox are sitting just three games behind the Twins for the final American League wild-card spot.
“We’ve just got to keep going,” Refsnyder said. "Unfortunately, the offense has stalled the past couple weeks. It sounds very cliche to say, but at every point of the year, offenses go through stretches like this. Unfortunately, it was during a really important time. It’s not for a lack of effort. Guys have been staying up hours after the game, talking about hitting, talking about approach. So all the guys really really want it.”
Red Sox release left-hander Rich Hill
The Red Sox released left-handed hurler Rich Hill, the team announced on Monday night. He was designated for assignment on Friday after the club promoted hard-throwing right-handed reliever Luis Guerrero from Triple-A Worcester.
Hill made four appearances for the Sox after he signed a minor-league deal with the club on Aug. 16. Prior to his promotion to the bigs for his fourth stint with his hometown team, he tossed two scoreless frames, striking out two in one appearance for the WooSox.
The southpaw made his season debut on Aug. 29 pitching in the series finale against the Blue Jays. Hill pitched 1 1/3 innings, striking out two of the four batters he faces in the Red Sox’ 2-0 loss.
Over his first two appearances, Hill tossed 2 2/3 perfect frames with three punchouts. In his next two appearances, the lefty was tagged for two runs on a home run and three walks. In total, Hill pitched in 3 2/3 innings with a 4.91 ERA and five strikeouts and three walks.
Former WooSox utilityman Eddy Alvarez makes Mets debut
The Red Sox traded WooSox infielder/outfielder Eddy Alvarez to the Mets on Sunday for cash considerations. Following the deal, he was added to the Mets 40-man roster and subsequently their 28-man expanded roster.
Ironically, former Red Sox infielder Pablo Reyes, who was traded to the Mets earlier this season, was designated for assignment to make room for Alvarez.
The 34-year-old made his Mets debut on Monday night, scoring a run in their 3-2 win over the Blue Jays.
Alvarez spent the entire season with Triple-A Worcester prior to the trade, putting together a solid season posting .283/.397/.473 line over 257 plate appearances while playing all over the infield and both corner outfield positions.
