TORONTO – The Red Sox were all set up for a postgame party in the visitor’s clubhouse at Rogers Centre, followed by a celebratory flight home.
And then the game happened, and all plans got postponed.
A win on getaway Thursday would have punched a ticket to the postseason for the Sox. But a 6-1 defeat to the Blue Jays means that Boston has no choice but to clinch at Fenway Park this weekend.
The Red Sox can also get in simply by the Astros losing one of their three games in Anaheim.
“That’s the beautiful thing about baseball. We have an opportunity tomorrow to do it at home,” said Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story. “It will probably be better at home when we can do it in front of our fans and with our families and not rush home [from Toronto] at three or four in the morning.”
This was the ninth time this season Boston had a chance to sweep on the final day of a series and lost.
“It’s not easy to do,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of sweeping a series. “That’s one of the best teams in the big leagues, we did an outstanding job the whole week, except one inning. So you tip your hat to them. It was a great road trip, and now we know what we have to do at home. So be ready for tomorrow.”
Fenway should be electric, with the home team having the chance to clinch its first postseason berth since 2021.
The weekend matchup against the Tigers is an intriguing one, as both clubs will be trying to solidify their respective spot in the playoffs. Detroit broke an eight-game losing streak by downing the surging Guardians on Thursday.
It will also be a high-stakes reunion for the Cora brothers. Alex’s older brother Joey coaches third base for the Tigers.
“I know them. I’ve got family there,” said Cora. “I know where they’re at. And I know what they need to do.”
Anticipating the stakes of it, Cora completed his media briefing by saying, “Let’s go.”
The Red Sox had built some momentum in recent days, winning four of the first five games in the season’s final road trip.
But things swung in the other direction in the finale, as the Sox didn’t muster a baserunner in the first six innings on a night the Jays went with a bullpen game.
Despite that, the game was still scoreless when Brayan Bello took the mound for the bottom of the sixth.
That frame got off to an ominous start when Story made his sixth error in the span of a week. Five of them have been on errant throws.
“I think I’m just not finishing the play,” said Story. “Late in the season, I think your body gets tired, but that’s no excuse. It’s on me. I have to be very diligent about finishing the throw, and I haven’t done that. That’s where it’s come from.”
Bello wasn’t able to pick his teammate up. Instead, he walked Addison Barger and hit Anthony Santander, loading the bases with nobody out.
That was all for Bello, and Cora called on lefty Justin Wilson to escape a serious traffic jam. Instead, Daulton Varsho hammered Wilson’s third pitch for a grand slam that set off pent-up roars from a Blue Jays crowd that had been silenced in the first two games of this three-game series.
Of small consolation was Jarren Duran getting the first hit of the night for the visitors, a double to lead off the seventh. Story quickly drove him in with a single.
For Bello, this was his final tune-up before he pitches Game 2 or 3 of a potential AL Wild Card series next week. He finished the season 11-9 with a 3.35 ERA.
“I’m very happy with this season that I had,” said Bello. “I feel I was able to improve a lot of aspects of my game and also was able to get deep into the games. And I feel that I’m super happy with this season because of what we accomplished.”
But the team needs one more win — or one Astros loss — for that accomplishment to be finalized.
“We’ve put ourselves in a great position,” Cora said. “We know what we have to do, and it’s going to be at Fenway Park.”
