Rafaela's walk-off homer sinks Angels in wild series finale

BOSTON -- The Los Angeles Angels were walked off by the Boston Red Sox in a chaotic, back-and-forth 11-9 loss on Wednesday afternoon at Fenway Park. After taking two of three to cap off a 3-3 road trip, the Angels are now 28-33 and 18-18 on the road.

In a game that saw each side deliver 12 hits, it was ultimately Ceddanne Rafaela's 308-foot homer that crept around the pesky pole that served as the dagger in the bottom of the ninth. The Boston center fielder, who had only gone deep three times in 2025 heading into the series, homered in all three games as his walk-off against Brock Burke salvaged the series finale. 

The blast would not have been a home run in any other park besides Fenway, with Rafaela taking advantage of the friendly confines provided in right field alongside the pesky pole. 

Long before the wild walk-off, it was clear that Wednesday was going to be a high-scoring affair as both starting pitchers struggled greatly. Red Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito, who appeared in six games for the Angels in 2023, lasted just 1 2/3 innings as he was shelled for seven runs on eight hits.

Posting four runs in the opening frame of the contest, the first five Angels to come to the plate all recorded hits. Nolan Schanuel had an RBI double to open the scoring before Taylor Ward socked a three-run shot onto the green monster.

It was the 17th of the year for Ward, who ranks third in the American League and sixth in all of baseball. His 28 RBI recorded in May tied Mo Vaughn for the franchise record in the month of May.

Despite the hot start against Giolito, Angels starter Jose Soriano delivered an even poorer opening inning of work. The Red Sox jumped him for five runs on four hits and two walks in the frame, highlighted by a two-run double from David Hamilton that made it 5-4.

The Los Angeles lineup got right back to work in the second, as Kevin Newman's leadoff double was followed by a triple from Zach Neto and a double from Schanuel that boosted the squad back in front 6-5. Two batters later, Ward collected his fourth RBI of the day on a sacrifice fly to make it 7-5 off Giolito.

Boston would go on to knot the game at 7 in the fourth against Soriano, who conceded a sacrifice fly to Wilyer Abreu and an RBI single to Carlos Narvaez. The single would mark the end of the day for Soriano, who exited after 3 2/3 innings with a season-high seven runs allowed.

The 26-year-old had entered Wednesday having allowed three or fewer earned runs in each of his last seven starts and in 10 of 12 games overall this season. He worked to a 2.34 ERA in May, but has now set a drastically different tone for himself to begin the month of June.

Los Angeles got him off the hook for a loss in the top of the fifth as Logan O'Hoppe reclaimed the lead with an RBI single. Following a pair of scoreless frames from Hunter Strickland and recently recalled Sam Aldegheri, 23-year-old Aldegheri conceded the tying run in his second inning of work on a sacrifice fly from Abraham Toro.

Yet again, the teams traded blows in the eighth as Kevin Newman's go-ahead single was matched in the bottom of the frame by Rafael Devers' RBI single off of Brock Burke. The left-hander, who surrendered the walk-off to Rafaela in the ninth, took his first loss of the season to fall to 4-1.

Wednesday was the first time all year that Los Angeles scored at least nine runs in a game and lost. They had been 7-0 in such games prior. It was Boston's fifth time scoring 11 runs in a game this season, lifting them to 5-0 when they do so.

With the six-game road trip in the books, the Angels will head home and prepare to host the Seattle Mariners for three games starting on Friday. The series is the first of two at home, as they will also welcome the Athletics to finish off a six game homestand.

Right-hander Kyle Hendricks (2-6, 5.34 ERA) will get the start on Friday for the Angels, while the Mariners are yet to announce who will make an appearance. Seattle is currently 32-27 and 1/2 game behind the Houston Astros for first place in the AL West.

First pitch is scheduled for 6:38 p.m. PT.