In a season full of crazy highs and lows, it was only fitting that it came down to the final game of the regular season for the Red Sox (92-70 overall, 43-38 away) to ultimately determine their playoff fate. If they had lost to the lowly Nationals (65-97 overall, 35-46 home), they would have been forced to play a tiebreaker game #163 against the Blue Jays (91-71) on Monday. Thankfully, it did not have to come down to that scary scenario as Boston rallied for a thrilling 7-5 victory at Nationals Park to both sweep Washington and set up a doozy of an AL Wild Card game on Tuesday night (8:08, ESPN) at Fenway Park vs. the Yankees (92-70). It will be the first time that the Red Sox have ever played in the Wild Card game so who better to face than their biggest rival? In a sport that is always desperate for attention and ratings, MLB couldn't have asked for a sexier matchup than that.
Star third baseman Rafael Devers (4-for-5 w/2 HRs, 4 RBIs & 3 runs) was incredible for the visitors while Chris Sale only went 2.1 IP (recording all of his outs via strikeouts) but six relievers helped the Sox get to the finish line. In fact, if you throw out Garrett Richards (3 ER in 1 IP), the other five guys (Hirokazu Sawamura, Martin Perez, Garrett Whitlock, Eduardo Rodriguez and Nick Pivetta) combined for 5.2 scoreless innings and only one hit allowed with five strikeouts. Boston did not make it easy on themselves as they trailed 2-0 in the fourth inning before Devers crushed a solo home run to center (his 37th of the season). The Nats added three more runs in the fifth inning including a two-run double by catcher Alex Avila in his final MLB game that made it 5-1 in favor of the home team.
The Sox eventually decided to get to work in the sixth inning as they cut it to 5-2 on an infield single by catcher Christian Vazquez that scored pinch hitter Jose Iglesias (playing in his last game of the season since he was acquired after Sept. 1). Boston tied it with three runs in the seventh on an RBI single by Devers that plated first baseman and former Nationals great Kyle Schwarber and a clutch two-run double by left fielder Alex Verdugo (3-for-5). Raffy saved his last heroics of the day for the ninth inning as he smashed a two-run bomb to left center that scored Schwarber once again. Needless to say, that was a huge swing (sorry for the lame baseball pun) for the Sox who went from having to play a must-win game tomorrow against the very dangerous Jays to hosting a must-win in two days vs. the Yankees.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora had to be creative in the last few innings with his bullpen: Whitlock pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning with two strikeouts, Rodriguez (13-8) added a scoreless eighth inning with a strikeout to earn the win and Pivetta closed it out with a 1-2-3 ninth inning with a strikeout for his first save of the season/as a member of the Red Sox. New York also would have faced Toronto if they had lost this afternoon but they beat Tampa Bay (100-62) 1-0 on a walk-off single by their star right fielder Aaron Judge. This will be the fourth time that the Yanks have appeared in the winner-take-all Wild Card game and they are 2-1 previously in them. With Nathan Eovaldi (11-9, 3.75 ERA) opposing Yankees ace Gerrit Cole (16-8), it has all the makings of a classic new chapter to one of the great rivalries in sports. The winners will advance to the ALDS vs. the Rays, what an amazing season for the AL East (minus the 52-110 Orioles!).
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