BOSTON — Ceddanne Rafaela struck out swinging twice on pitches outside the strike zone in key spots Saturday during the Red Sox’ 5-3 loss to the Yankees .

But manager Alex Cora said he saw two positives: Rafaela pulled a single to left field in the fifth inning and lined out to right field in the ninth inning.

Cora spoke with Rafaela on Saturday and told him something Manny Ramirez used to emphasize.

“Try to be ready early, even if you feel uncomfortable,” Cora told Rafaela. “Give yourself time to see the ball. And that’s something, Manny always talked about it.”

Rafaela is batting .188 with a .241 on-base percentage, .276 slugging percentage and .517 OPS in 51 games (195 plate appearances) during the second half. He’s 4-for-34 (.118) in September.

“We as hitters, we always talk a

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