Devers delivers for Sox
Will host Yankees in AL Wild Card game
The task was very simple for the Red Sox going into Sunday’s final day of the regular season: Finish off a sweep of the last-place Nationals, and host the American League Wild Card game.
But there’s no such thing as simple for these 2021 Red Sox. They always have to get things done the hard way.
It was a day Alex Cora described as special, with playoff destiny in the Red Sox’ hands amidst a sea of potential chaos. It turned out to be stressful with a special ending.
In a season full of huge hits, Rafael Devers delivered the biggest one of his young career, a monster, tie breaking two-run home run in the ninth inning as the Red Sox overcame an early deficit and some more stressful moments to survive with a 7-5 victory over the Nats.
After all that — a series loss to the Orioles that put their playoff hopes on edge, and more drama this weekend in Washington, D.C. — the Red Sox avoided the chaos of tie breaking scenarios. They will host the Yankees on Tuesday night, with Nathan Eovaldi facing Gerrit Cole, in what could be an epic Wild Card game at Fenway Park, with the winner advancing to the Division Series against the Rays.
“They worked so hard to get to this point and they didn’t get denied,” Cora said. “That’s a special group over there. We went through a lot over 162 games and to be able to do it, is a great feeling.”
The Red Sox have played with a chip on their shoulder all season. Doubted after a horrific 2020 season, not many had high hopes. But with Cora back in charge, they exceeded expectations in the first half, navigated an adverse second half that included a COVID-19 outbreak and emerged with 92 wins and a return to the playoffs.
“Nobody believed in us at the beginning of the season,” Devers said. “Nobody believed in us halfway through the season. Obviously our next goal is the wild card and then get through — get through the second round.”
They were emotional after Nick Pivetta clinched the final out, a strikeout of Juan Soto. Cora took a moment to himself, soaking it in after last year’s suspension put him out of baseball, while his team started a champagne celebration into the visiting clubhouse at Nationals Park.
“It means a lot,” Cora said. “I was thinking about my family. I put them in such a horrible spot last year and for me, I can deal with it. I can deal with it. But for them, it was pretty tough and the support system that I have is amazing. …
“And obviously the group here, ownership, the players and everybody that’s involved in this day in and day out operation, they’ve been amazing. There’s a lot of work to do still, but it was more for them than me. I think they deserve this and I know they’re enjoying it.”
They could enjoy it after doing what’s defined them this season, making it far harder on themselves than it needs to be. They trailed 5-2 into the seventh inning, but as they watched the scoreboard — the Blue Jays crushing the Orioles, the Yankees eventually beating the Rays — they knew they needed to step up, or face less-than-ideal circumstances.
“I remember looking up and seeing that the Yankees won in the bottom of the ninth and I was like, ‘All right, we’ve gotta go boys. Let’s go,’” Alex Verdugo said. “Sure enough, we ended up having some really, really good at-bats with teammates coming up huge.”
Verdugo was one of them. The Red Sox rallied with three in the seventh as Verdugo’s two-run double to the right-field gap tied it at 5. They had finally seized momentum, and they carried it. Garrett Whitlock returned with a shutout seventh, and they needed some of their starters to help out, including Eduardo Rodriguez in the eighth.
Then, it was Devers’ turn to shine again. The offense has been sputtering over the last week, and the All-Star third baseman has decided to take things into his own hands. He crushed his third home run of the weekend and second of the game, demolishing Kyle Finnegan’s splitter for a 447foot two-run blast to center.
Devers flipped his bat appropriately, his 38th homer of the season the ultimate difference. Another clutch hit in the 24-year-old’s growing portfolio.
“He’s an amazing talent,” Cora said. “He’s been there, done that. No moment is big for him.”
Now, they turn to another big moment, with their season on the line Tuesday. A weekend after being swept by the Yankees at Fenway, they’ll play them again, this time in a do-or-die scenario. Somehow, it’ll be the first winner-take-all game between the rivals since Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS.
“They’ve done an amazing job against us in the second part of the season,” Cora said. “We all know the numbers. We all know what they did to us a weekend ago. We’ll be ready. It should be fun. I think baseball enjoys it. I think our fans will show up on Tuesday and make Fenway feel like home.”