The Boston Red Sox are headed to the American League Wild Card game, thanks to a crucial go-ahead home run from Rafael Devers in the ninth inning that set up a 7-5 victory over the Washington Nationals.
The Red Sox finished the regular season at 92-70 and are tied with the New York Yankees for the top AL Wild Card spot, meaning they will square off in postseason play at Fenway Park on Tuesday.
Washington finished the season at 65-97.
You can view the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
Devers clearly wanted to play in the Wild Card game.
From the beginning of this one, he was all over the stat sheet. He launched a fourth-inning solo home run to get the Red Sox on the board in what was a 2-0 game, then logged the third of three consecutive singles to bring Xander Bogaerts home and get the Red Sox within two in the seventh.
In a 5-5 game in top of the ninth, Devers went yard again with two-run home run to put Boston up 7-5. The Red Sox third baseman finished 4-for-5 with four RBIs and three runs as the Red Sox offense overcame a short start from Chris Sale, which ultimately turned this one into a bullpen game.
STARS OF THE GAME
-- Alex Verdugo launched the two-RBI double that tied things up 5-5 in the seventh.
-- Hirokazu Sawamura made his first appearance since Sept. 24 following Sale's prompt removal. He largely stifled the threat, with one hit and a strikeout in 1 2/3 innings of work. MartÃn Pérez, Garrett Whitlock, Eduardo Rodriguez and Nick Pivetta also put up strong showings.
-- Nationals starter Joan Adon, making his MLB debut, absolutely shut down the Red Sox through five innings of work. He finished with four hits and just one run allowed on the Devers' homer. He struck out eight and walked three, throwing 48 of 78 pitches for strikes.
WAGER WATCH
DraftKings Sportsbook had this game being a run-fest with the over/under set at nine. A $120 bet would have paid out $100.
ON DECK AT NESN
The Wild Card game is set for Tuesday in Boston. NESN will have pregame and postgame coverage, while first pitch is scheduled for 8:08 p.m. ET on ESPN.
