If there has been one player who has been the offensive barometer of what can only be called a wild Red Sox 2025 season, it has been outfielder/infielder Ceddanne Rafaela, who entered Friday’s game against the Tigers with some of the most notable win/loss splits among the team’s hitters.
Rafaela was batting .269 with 12 of his 16 homers in Red Sox wins. He had 48 RBIs in the 85 wins in which he played, and just 14 in the 64 losses. He hit just .213 when the Red Sox lost, and his OPS plummeted from .778 in wins to .587 in losses.
So when Rafaela hit a near-homer in the seventh inning, one that missed being a home run by a few feet, instead hitting off the top of the Green Monster in left for a double, there had to be a sense that a win was in the offing, even though the Tigers led at Fenway, 3-1, at the time.
But the win was, indeed, coming, and it was Rafaela who delivered it with another deep drive, this time to center field, to score Romy Gonzalez in the bottom of the ninth and give the Red Sox a thrilling walk-off win (their league-high 12th this year) to clinch their spot in the American League playoffs.
Red Sox’s Alex Cora: ‘Win the World Series’
After the game, in a Fenway locker room drenched in beer and champagne, manager Alex Cora addressed his team.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be perfect, right?” Cora said. “But we knew we were gonna do it as a family, we were gonna learn how to win games and little by little by little, we were gonna learn how to win games. We talked right before the All-Star break that that was gonna happen. And that’s what really happened.
“I am very proud of all you guys. Through the year, we went through a lot, right? Injuries and other stuff. We struggled and we got up and we kept going and going and going. Today was a perfect example of a team win, I mean everybody contributed.”
Then Cora ignited his team with this:
“But as you guys know, we did not come here to play 162. We came here to win the World Series. Let’s (expletive) go!”
Red Sox Made Shrewd Acquisitions This Offseason
The win concludes a remarkable year for the Red Sox in which the franchise pulled itself out of its worse doldrums of this century. Boston had not only missed the playoffs, but had finished at or below .500 for three straight years heading into 2025.
The team was serious about turning that around in this offseason, though, with the trade and signing of ace Garrett Crochet, the signing of ace closer Aroldis Chapman, the late acquisition of third baseman Alex Bregman and the calling up of five top prospects–Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell, as well as pitchers Payton Tolle and Connelly Early.
The quintet had mixed results, but their quick ascensions showed how serious the Red Sox were about getting to the playoffs this season.
Wild-Card Playoffs Await
At 88-72 now, the Red Sox are in the No. 2 wild-card position. The Tigers (tied with the Guardians in the Central) and Astros are fighting it out for the final spot.
The hope for the Red Sox now is that, with the MLB playoffs starting on Tuesday, this postseason is not a one-and-done situation, as Cora eloquently noted. With Crochet and starters Brayan Bello and Lucas Giolito lined up for next week, the hope is there is enough in the rotation to survive a wild-card round.
And if that happens … well, who knows?
Red Sox’s Alex Cora Sends Dramatic Message After Walk-Off Playoff Clincher