Red Sox advance to ALCS, eliminate defending AL champion Rays with thrilling walk-off victory

The Red Sox have been fueled by doubt all season, carrying a “nobody believes in us” attitude through a strong first half, and when things looked dicey in the second half, overcoming it to reach an unlikely postseason berth.

But who could have predicted this when they arrived in Fort Myers for spring training back in February?

The Red Sox are going to the ALCS.

It was just four days ago when the Rays dominated a Game 1 in which Randy Arozarena stole home and was eating popcorn in the dugout. It looked like the Red Sox’ playoff stay would be short. But backed by clutch pitching performances, not to mention an explosive Game 3 offensive effort, the Red Sox once again surprised the baseball world.

Eduardo Rodriguez seized his moment with a big-time start, and the Red Sox came through with another phenomenal walk-off win to dispatch the defending American League champion and reigning division winner Rays. On a Marathon Monday to remember in Boston which began with the return of the Boston Marathon to the city’s streets for the first time in 30 months, the Red Sox ended the night with a celebration on the field after Kiké Hernández hit a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Danny Santana for the winning run in a thrilling 6-5 victory.

“Not too many people gave us a chance from the get-go, but we believed,” manager Alex Cora said. “At the end, for how bad it looked sometimes, we’re still here. We’re still in the dance.”

The Red Sox will face either the Astros or White Sox in the ALCS, a series the Astros lead two games to one. Game 1 would be Friday in either Houston or Chicago.

Faced with the possibility of another extra-innings game after Sunday’s 13-inning thriller, the Red Sox weren’t interested, and finally came through after coming up empty on major opportunities in the seventh and eighth. With runners on second and third after Christian Vazquez singled and Travis Shaw singled, Hernandez wasted no time to send the Red Sox through to the next round. His fly ball to left was deep enough to score Santana, pinch running for Vazquez.

Vazquez was already starting the celebration, running out to home to greet Santana before the throw home even got to the plate.

“Just proud of the group,” Cora said. “Proud of everybody here. Happy for my family that they can enjoy this. Happy for Boston. It was an amazing day. That was loud. That was actually better than yesterday.

“When something that we envision before the season, we envision in the off-season, and the fact that we are one series away from going to the World Series, it means a lot to this organization.”

Last Thursday’s Game 1 pitted Rodriguez against Shane McClanahan, a matchup the Rays lefty was easily victorious in as Rodriguez recorded just five outs in the Red Sox’ 5-0 loss. But in Monday’s Game 4, it was a reversal of sorts.

When the Red Sox needed him to go deep, Rodriguez — on just three days of rest — delivered, giving them five massive innings. He walked off the field to a standing ovation from Fenway’s electric crowd of 38,477 with a 5-1 lead after the Red Sox crushed McClanahan in the third inning.

“I’m very, very happy for him,” Cora said. “Everybody knows what happened last year and the up and downs of this season, and for him, to go out there and give us a chance to win, it means a lot.”

After Collin McHugh opened the game for the Rays, manager Kevin Cash turned to McClanahan, on three days of rest after throwing 82 pitches on Thursday. But it went bad in a hurry for him. Rafael Devers hit a three-run home run to open the floodgates for a five-run inning, ending McClanahan’s night after he recorded just two outs

The Red Sox spoiled chances in the seventh and eighth — including when Alex Verdugo was thrown out at third to end the eighth — but they stayed level-headed. Garrett Whitlock’s shutout ninth set the stage for more heroics. Vazquez singled, moved over to second on Christian Arroyo’s bunt, and the Sox had runners on second and third for Hernandez, who did what he needed to do with Santana on third.

”I’m glad I was able to get that pitch, and I’m glad I was able to get the job done,” he said.

The Red Sox may have not had many believers when this season started, so it was fitting that Hernandez was the one to send them to the ALCS. When he signed as a free agent last winter, Hernandez saw Boston as a fit for a long-awaited everyday job, but he also believed his new team had plenty of potential after a horrid 2020 season. It’s certainly realizing it now.

“I was like, man, I don’t understand why people are talking about this team like we’re the worst team in that division or whatever. I was like, this is a solid squad. They won the World Series a few years ago. They know what it takes to win. …

“I knew that we had a really solid team, and the same thing I said at spring training, nothing has changed. … I mean, here we are surprising everybody but ourselves. We knew in spring training we had the team to make it this far, and here we are.”