Red Sox Notes: Ceddanne Rafaela Improvements Making Difference

The Red Sox haven't done Ceddanne Rafaela any favors during his rookie season, relying on him to play all over the place.

Boston has deployed the 23-year-old at both shortstop and center field, the two most difficult positions in the sport. Rafaela has responded outstandingly, playing some of the best outfield defense in all of baseball while making steady strides in the infield.

"He's looking better and better," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said following the game, as seen on NESN. "He's going to play a lot of short the rest of the way. We know how good he can be at short. We know how great he is in center field. But the moving around, it takes away from good jumps and being engaged... He's been playing short a lot, and you can see it now."

Rafaela's taken a steady approach to his hectic responsibilities, seeing everything come together in Wednesday's victory over the Houston Astros. The Red Sox's slick-fielding rookie finished 2-for-4 from the dish with two doubles, two RBIs and a two highlight plays defensively.

It was a fitting afternoon for the guy who plays two positions.

"I'm not trying to do too much," Rafaela told NESN's Jahmai Webster following the game. "I'm trying to put the ball in play, and give it a good swing... It's the work I put in before every game. I see where my name is on the lineup that day, and I focus on that position."

Here are more notes from Wednesday's matchup between the Red Sox and Astros:

-- Masataka Yoshida stole his first base of the season Wednesday, eventually scoring an insurance run off the back of Rafaela's second double of the game.

-- The Red Sox bullpen has been nails over the last two days, securing 8 1/3 combined scoreless innings in the two wins. Brennan Bernardino was able to keep that scoreless streak alive with a bases-loaded strikeout against Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez on Wednesday.

"It's kind of what you live for," "..It's those situations, ever since you were a kid, bases loaded, big game, it was fun to get in there... It feels like things are turning around. We're just going to keep going."

-- Boston went 4-3 on its road trip through Baltimore and Houston, and will be, at worst, 3.5 games back in the American League Wild Card race going into an off-day.

-- The Red Sox will return to Fenway Park on Friday, opening a three-game set with the Arizona Diamondbacks. It'll be the only series of the season between the two clubs, with first pitch of the opener scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET, following an hour of pregame coverage on NESN.