BOSTON — Fenway Park turned into absolute bedlam on Friday night, thanks to one mighty cut from Ceddanne Rafaela that vaulted the Red Sox right into the postseason for the first time since 2021 with a 4-3 walk-off win over the Tigers.
For a season that has been an uphill climb many times for the Red Sox — be it prolonged injuries to key players (Alex Bregman, Roman Anthony), a stunning trade of a star (Rafael Devers), or stretches of time when the club lost its way only to find it again — the clinching ticket, which required climbing out of a 3-0 deficit, couldn’t have been any more fitting.
Of course, such drama came on a Friday night with the team wearing their City Connect Fenway Greens. Boston finished the season 6-5 in green, and all six of the victories were walk-offs, five of them on Fridays.
With Romy Gonzalez on first after a one-out single in the bottom of the ninth, Rafaela launched one off the wall in center for a walk-off triple against Tommy Kahnle that sent the entire team storming out of the dugout to celebrate.
“You’ve been here all year, so I can just lay it out for you,” said Jarren Duran, who tied the festivities in the eighth with an RBI single. “We’re in the greens. Close game, we’re chasing and Rafaela came up. You guys should have written that down [before] it happened. Raf has been doing this all year.”
Boston will start its playoff run on Tuesday as the fifth or sixth seed in the American League in a best-of-three Wild Card Series against a yet-to-be-determined opponent that will be played exclusively on the road.
Before looking to the drama ahead, the Sox and their fans savored the glorious moment that took place Friday night, which bested the previous top finish of the season, when Rafaela launched one over the Green Monster on July 11 against the Rays to lead the club to a 5-4 walk-off victory.
For a man known for his defense in center field, Rafaela sure does have a flair for the dramatic.
“There’s no pressure,” said Rafaela. “I don’t feel that. I don’t do that. I want to be in those moments. When those moments come, I want to be there. I want to be the guy.”
For Gonzalez, who started the season as a platoon player before emerging into the everyday second baseman, the 270-foot sprint to paydirt was one to remember.
“It was just unbelievable. I kind of saw the boys in the dugout pouring onto the field. The crowd was crazy. Just an unbelievable feeling,” Gonzalez said. “I don’t think I could have run any harder. I know it’s Game 160 and the body hurts, but man, I felt numb there.”
It was perhaps the most exciting finish to a Boston postseason clincher since Tom Brunansky dove into the right-field corner at Fenway to rob Ozzie Guillen of extra bases on Oct. 3, 1990.
While Rafaela stole the show, it was an all-out effort by manager Alex Cora to keep the game close within range by the time the ninth inning came around.
After that early deficit, Cora left nothing to chance, going with setup man Justin Slaten to relieve the faltering Kyle Harrision with nobody out in the fourth, three Detroit runs already having scored in the frame.
One after another, Cora’s relievers came through, combining for six innings in which they allowed three hits, no runs and one walk while tallying six strikeouts.
There was ace setup man Garrett Whitlock striking out the side in the eighth. And there was elite closer Aroldis Chapman, all but scoffing when the Tigers opened the ninth with a Justyn-Henry Malloy double and then put the go-ahead run at third on a grounder.
As he has done all year, Chapman put out the fire, punching out the next two, completing the frame with a knee-buckling slider that Spencer Torkelson swung through.
It was all so 2025 Red Sox.
“The guys kept grinding, putting together good at-bats,” said Cora. “The bullpen kept putting zeros up, and the kid [Rafaela], there’s something about him. The previous at-bat, he hit one off the wall. We felt it was a really good matchup for him with Kahnle and he crushed that one. Just a total team effort. That was fun to watch.”
And for the first time in four years, there will be more Red Sox baseball to watch after the regular season ends on Sunday.
“It’s playoff baseball,” said Duran. “Anything can happen. It’s fun that I get to be a part of it now. And hopefully we’ll be that crazy team that goes all the way. That would be super fun.”
