What was the most memorable walk-off win of the year?
Brendan: Andrew Benintendi‘s walk-off single against the Yankees in August. The Sox stormed back in the 9th and then Benni sent the ball up to the middle to bring home another win to Fenway.
Rick: So many to choose from. Mookie Betts’ first ever? Plenty more, but I will go with Xander Bogaerts’ grand slam walk-off against the Blue Jays on July 10. This was the third slam of the season by XB and it was a tenth-inning job. Gave the Red Sox a 3.5 game lead in the division.
Josh: My favorite walk-off of the year was their August 5 win over New York. It gave them an important, late-season sweep of the Yankees. An Aroldis Chapman blown save made it particularly sweet.
Robert: I think it has to be the final game of the four-game sweep against the Yankees. It would have been easy for them to settle for three out of four in the huge series, but they showed their signature resilience and came back after being down 4-1 in the bottom of the ninth. This team wasn’t phased by anything all year and they could beat you by just stringing hits together. They did that here, and Benintendi’s dribbler up the middle was the perfect way to end the game and any hopes the Yankees had to win the division.
Steve: The most memorable walk-off win of the year I would say is Mitch Moreland‘s walk-off home run against the Houston Astros. The Houston Astros were at Fenway Park for a weekend series in September. It was Sunday Night Baseball and the Sox were trying to avoid a sweep. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Moreland singled in the winning run with two outs. The Sox would win the game 6-5 over Houston. It was such a great win. They avoided the sweep and made a statement that they were the team to beat in the American League. Even better, J.D. Martinez would hit his 40th home run of the season.
Rudi: The Hanley Ramirez walk-off win, early in the season, against Tampa Bay comes to mind. Hanley was an important Sox player and although he only played a number of games this season, this will remain a highlight in his contributions in Boston.
Jason: Benintendi’s walk-off single that Sox-legend Tony Renda scored on to complete the 4-game sweep of the Yankees was definitely the most memorable walk-off. They won the first 3 games of the series and it didn’t seem likely they’d sweep when they were trailing for most of that final game. But then they came back late to force it into extras and won it in the 10th. That sweep basically locked up the division for the Red Sox.
Hunter: Blake Swihart‘s walk-off double in the 13th inning against the Philadelphia Phillies. The Red Sox still had nothing “locked up” as this was on July 30. This was also the moment Swihart was brought into the mix. His contributions during the season shouldn’t be overlooked and this helped get him into the rotation.