Ceddanne Rafaela hit a deep shot to center field, while Romy González hesitated between first and second base, making sure the ball wouldn’t be caught. The rest of the Boston Red Sox team didn’t wait. The players ran out of the dugout to greet González as he reached home plate with the winning run, thus celebrating their return to the postseason on Friday night after a 4-3 victory against the Detroit Tigers. Another group gathered around Rafaela at third base. Boston (88-72) moved two games ahead of Detroit and three games ahead of Houston (85-75) in the fight for the last two American League wild card spots. The Red Sox will play the first round in a best-of-three series away from home, either against New York, Toronto, Cleveland, or Detroit.
Boston could have clinched a playoff spot even with a loss if Houston had also lost. Ace Garrett Crochet, who is expected to be the Game 1 starter of the wild card round, said there were no plans for the team to stay at Fenway Park to celebrate if the Angels beat the Astros.Most importantly: we’re in”, said Red Sox manager Alex Cora in his office, across the hall from the clubhouse where his players were showering with sparkling wine and beer. “We’re just celebrating tonight, and we’ll see where we are tomorrow.
Alex Cora
The Red Sox had been absent from the postseason for three consecutive seasons. They haven’t been four years in a row without reaching the playoffs since 1985. Their 2021 run to the American League Championship Series had been their only postseason appearance since their 2018 World Series title.I didn’t have defeat in mind at all. I was focused on today and on the game we were playing,” Crochet said. “We are handling the task at hand and controlling what we can control.
Garrett Crochet
Boston was down 3-0 in the fourth inning, but cut the deficit to 3-2 in the seventh thanks to a double by Rafaela that bounced off the top of the Green Monster. The Red Sox tied it in the eighth with a run-scoring single by Jarren Duran, and then González singled with one out in the ninth. Rafaela connected a 1-0 pitch directly to center field. Center fielder Parker Meadows jumped at the wall, but couldn’t catch the ball, and it bounced towards right field. This rally sparked a celebration at Fenway Park, with all tickets sold, as the players returned to the field in their “October Baseball” jerseys and posed for a team photo in front of the Green Monster. In the clubhouse, they put on goggles and soaked each other with champagne and beer.We didn’t come here to just play 162 games. We came here to win the World Series,” Cora told his players in the clubhouse before uncorking the first bottle of sparkling wine. “Come on, fuck it!
Alex Cora
Cora said he was happy to secure the spot with two games remaining, so the Red Sox can line up their pitching staff for the three-game wild card series that begins next Tuesday. Lucas Giolito will no longer pitch on Sunday, so he can be the Game 2 starter.“I have nothing but faith in this group,” said rookie Roman Anthony, whose injury stalled the playoff run, although he has a chance to return in October, if his teammates can keep it going long enough. “I’m trying to stay positive and be the best cheerleader I can be.
Roman Anthony
According to Elias Sports Bureau, it was the first time in at least a century that the Red Sox clinched a postseason berth with a walk-off win. The team’s six wins in their Green Monster alternate jerseys this season have been walk-offs.“It’s important to take care of some guys,” Cora said. “The pitching staff, we have to make sure we’re in shape for next week.
Alex Cora
I said, ‘Hey, we’re wearing the green jerseys. You know what that means,'” Crochet said in the Boston clubhouse. “And, ultimately, Rafaela delivered.
Garrett Crochet
