Red Sox clinch first playoff berth since 2021 on Rafaela's walk-off triple to beat Tigers

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BOSTON (AP) — Ceddanne Rafaela tripled off the center field wall to drive in the game-ending run in the ninth inning on Friday night, giving the Red Sox a 4-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers and clinching Boston’s first postseason berth since 2021.

Boston rallied from a 3-0 deficit to move two games ahead of the Tigers and 2 1/2 ahead of Houston in the race for the last two American League wild-card berths, with two games left to play. Detroit, which has lost 12 of its last 14 games, can still reach the playoffs and even win the AL Central with help from Cleveland.

Boston tied the game in the eighth inning and then Romy Gonzalez singled to center with one out in the ninth. Rafaela, who missed clearing the Green Monster in the seventh by about a foot, sent a 1-0 pitch off the wall in center.

Gonzalez, who held up to make sure it wasn't caught, raced around to score as his teammates streamed out of the dugout and nearly beat him to the plate.

Masataka Yoshida had three hits for Boston. Closer Aroldis Chapman (5-3) pitched the ninth for the win. Tommy Kahnle (1-5) got just one out in the bottom of the ninth.

The Red Sox missed a pair of two-run homers by about two feet: Nathaniel Lowe hit a line drive off the Green Monster in the second inning, just missing the top of the wall. Rafaela also settled for a double with his liner off the top of the 37-foot wall in the seventh.

It was Boston's major league-leading 12th walk-off win of the season. That's tied for the second most in franchise history. The Red Sox won on their last at-bat 13 times in 1940.

LHP Connelly Early (1-1) will start for Boston on Saturday. The Tigers had not named a starter.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb