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Ceddanne Rafaela delivered two RBI doubles, helping the Boston Red Sox to a 4-1 victory over the Houston Astros, spoiling Justin Verlander’s return to the mound on Wednesday afternoon.
Verlander, who had been sidelined with neck discomfort, was activated from the 15-day injured list to make his first start since June 9.
The Red Sox didn’t give the 41-year-old veteran a warm welcome in the series finale, with Jarren Duran leading off with a double and scoring on Triston Casas’ one-out single, giving Boston an early 1-0 lead.
Alex Bregman tied the game 1-1 in the bottom of the first by launching a 3-2 sinker over the left-field wall.
Rafaela then put Boston back in front with an RBI double in the second inning, a lead they never relinquished. The Red Sox threatened to extend the lead further, but Wilyer Abreu’s pop-out left runners stranded on second and third.
Verlander (3-3) settled down afterward, finishing with five innings pitched, allowing two runs on four hits, walking one, and striking out six.
In the seventh, Rafaela struck again with another RBI double, driving in Masataka Yoshida.
Houston nearly rallied in the seventh when Mauricio Dubon and Jake Meyers advanced to second and third on a wild pitch with no outs. Greg Weissert struck out Jon Singleton but then walked Trey Cabbage to load the bases.
Bregman followed with a shallow flyout in foul territory before Brennan Bernardino took the mound and struck out Yordan Alvarez to end the inning.
David Hamilton capped off Boston’s win with a solo home run in the ninth, extending the lead to 4-1.
Chris Martin secured his first save of the year despite allowing a two-out single in the bottom of the inning. Reliever Josh Winckowski (4-1) earned the win.
Boston starter Cooper Criswell gave up one run and four hits over 4 2/3 innings, walking one and striking out four.
Yainer Diaz and Dubon each had two hits, but the Astros suffered back-to-back losses for the first time since a three-game skid from August 3-5.