Ceddanne Rafaela saves Red Sox win with incredible running catch in 11th inning

BOSTON -- There is a lot to like about Red Sox rookie Ceddanne Rafaela, from his silky bat to his speed on the basepaths. On Tuesday night, he saved Boston's extra-innings win over the Athletics with his dazzling glove in center field.

Rafaela's incredible instincts and speed in the outfield were on full display in the bottom of the 11th inning in Oakland. Boston was on top 5-4 after taking a lead in the top of the frame, but with ghost runner Seth Brown at second base, the threat of the A's pulling even was there. 

Josh Winckowski was on the hill for Boston, and with one out, the righty fired a 96 mph sinker to Shea Langeliers. The pitch caught too much of the plate, and Langeliers put a charge into it, sending the offering to deep center.

It looked like the game would be tied when the ball left Langliers bat, but Rafaela had other plans. Though the ball kept trailing to right-center, Rafaela got a great jump and was able to chase it down. He made a small leap at the warning track and corralled the ball before crashing into the wall. Rafaela quickly fired the ball back into the infield to keep Brown at second base.

According to Statcast, Rafaela covered 92 feet to make the catch. Winckowski celebrated Rafaela's play on the mound, and then struck out Lawrence Butler to finish off the 5-4 Boston victory. He said that Rafaela "100 percent" saved the game for the Red Sox after the win.

"That was unbelievable," said the reliever, who earned the victory after tossing two scoreless innings of relief.

While Winckowski was a little worried from the mound, Boston manager Alex Cora was as cool as a cucumber in the dugout. He championed for Rafaela to be on the Opening Day roster in large part because of what the 23-year-old can do with his glove.

"From my end, yeah, I knew he had it," said a confident Cora. "He had it the whole time. That's what we do now. We play better defense and we pitch a lot better."

Rafaela credited his excellent jump for being able to make Tuesday night's game-saving snag. But he also firmly believes that if the ball stays in the yard, he's going to catch it. 

"I think that was the main part of why I made the catch," Rafaela said of his jump. "I mean, in my mind, everything that's in the park, I have to catch it there."

Rafaela may be hitless over the first two games against the A's, but he more than made up for the lack of offense with his stellar defense.