Ceddanne Rafaela homered for a third straight game as the Boston Red Sox completed a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles, an 8-4 win on Sunday night. The sweep capped a seven-game West Coast trip in which Boston also swept Oakland and left Los Angeles after beating the two-time defending World Series champions. The Red Sox have now won 23 of their last 26 games and 28 of their last 33, and they are 15-1 over their last 16 road games. Boston has the second-most road wins in the American League, trailing only the New York Yankees. Boston’s recent run includes sweeping the top three AL clubs in separate series, a stretch the club and baseball operations chief Craig Breslow say justifies aggressive roster investment at the trade deadline. The sweep came a day before MLB’s trade deadline, leaving the Red Sox positioned to pursue additions while returning to Boston for deadline-day decisions.
