Red Sox win marathon of their own

Jim Monaghan
Content Coordinator

The easy way to tell you what happened at Fenway Park Sunday night is to say that Christian Vazquez (pictured)  hit a two-run, walk-off homer in the bottom of the 13th inning to lift the Red Sox to a 6-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 3 of their American League Division Series.

Photo courtesy of NESN

Except that this game was anything but easy.

A 2-0 Boston deficit in the top of the first inning turned into a 4-2 Red Sox lead after five innings.

Nathan Eovaldi left after the fifth and the lead was safe until the Rays tied things up in the top of the 8th off reliever Hansel Robles.

In a game that lasted more than five hours (5:14 to be exact), Nick Pivetta proved to be the workhorse of Alex Cora's bullpen, tossing four scoreless innings to grab the win.

Pivetta and the Red Sox were also the beneficiary of a ground rule double in the top of the 13th that with a runner on first that resulted in runners on second and third.

All that set the stage for Vazquez, who started the game on the bench.

Among the other highlights - Kyle Schwarber, Kike Hernandez, and Christian Arroyo each with three hits.

So on the afternoon/night before the Boston Marathon,  after a seemingly lackluster approach to the roster at the trade deadline, after a horrible August, after all the COVID-related issues, after all of it - the Boston Red Sox are one win away from the ALCS.

Click here to find more by Jim Monaghan on Red Sox Life. Follow him on twitter - @Monaghan21.