Ceddanne Rafaela hit a walk-off triple off the center-field wall in the bottom of the ninth inning, giving the Red Sox a 4-3 win over the visiting Detroit Tigers and clinching a playoff berth for Boston on Friday night.
The Red Sox (88-72) scored in each of the last three innings while overcoming a 3-0 deficit and ending a three-year postseason drought with the win.
The Tigers (86-74), who have lost nine of 10, remained tied for first place in the American League Central with the Guardians (86-74). Cleveland, which lost 7-3 to the Texas Rangers on Friday, holds the tiebreaker advantage over Detroit.
The Tigers retained a one-game lead for the third and final American League wild card over the Astros (85-75). Houston lost 4-3 to the Los Angeles Angels late Friday night.
Detroit has the tiebreaker edge over Houston. If the Tigers win twice this weekend to tie Boston for the second AL wild card, Detroit would capture that tiebreaker.
Romy Gonzalez hit a one-out single into center field and scored the winning run. It was Boston’s 12th walk-off win of the season, tied for the second most in franchise history.
Rafaela (2-for-4) had a pair of extra-base hits, while Masataka Yoshida was 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
Aroldis Chapman (5-3) allowed a leadoff double to pinch hitter Justyn-Henry Malloy in the ninth inning, but stranded the go-ahead run on third to post the win.
Yoshida sparked Boston in the seventh with a single and reached third on Rafaela’s double to left. With Kyle Finnegan entering in relief, Nathaniel Lowe hit a sacrifice fly to center field to make it a one-run game.
In the eighth, Carlos Narvaez hit a leadoff single before pinch runner Nate Eaton stole second and reached third when catcher Dillon Dingler’s throw kicked into the outfield. Jarren Duran then tied the game with an RBI knock to left.
Spencer Torkelson, Dingler and Javier Baez each had two hits for the Tigers. Tommy Kahnle (1-5) allowed two hits, including the deciding run in the ninth.
Tigers starter Casey Mize struck out eight over 6 1/3 innings of two-run ball.
Boston’s Kyle Harrison escaped trouble with two-on, no-out and bases-loaded, one-out situations in the first, striking out a pair before Duran made a leaping catch at the left-field wall.
Harrison completed three scoreless frames with six strikeouts before the Tigers batted around during a three-run fourth.
Ibanez drew a leadoff walk before back-to-back singles by Dingler and Parker Meadows loaded the bases, and Baez’s RBI single through a hole in the right side of the infield gave the visitors a 1-0 lead. Jahmai Jones’ double extended the advantage to 3, ending Harrison’s evening.
Justin Slaten and Steven Matz worked out of the fourth without any further damage, allowing the Red Sox offense to get a run back when they came back to bat. Alex Bregman began the bottom of the fourth with a ground-rule double into right-center field and scored on Yoshida’s single.
A line-drive double play helped Mize finish the frame with a 3-1 lead, beginning a stretch of eight straight retired through the middle innings. The Detroit righty struck out the side in the fifth.
–Field Level Media
