Rafael Devers’ two-homer game propels the Red Sox to their first Wild Card game in franchise history
The Red Sox are going to their first Wild Card game in franchise history on the back of Rafael Devers.
In a showing of late-game heroics reminiscent of his mentor David Ortiz, Devers cranked a two-run go-ahead homer in the 9th inning to give the Red Sox a 7-5 lead that they’d hold to the very end.
RAFAEL DEVERS DID WHAT?! pic.twitter.com/2ZtBcstyN6
— Red Sox (@RedSox) October 3, 2021
FOREVER AND DEVERS! pic.twitter.com/GzN3QGW6H1
— Red Sox (@RedSox) October 3, 2021
Rafael Devers confirmed "the man". pic.twitter.com/a7DBwVlPwj
— Red Sox (@RedSox) October 3, 2021
Big Papi was as hyped as everyone else in Red Sox Nation:
😮😮 there go that man devers !!! @RedSox
— David Ortiz (@davidortiz) October 3, 2021
It was Devers’ second home run of the game; a solo shot gave the Red Sox an early 1-0 lead that they’d soon squander on a combination of stranded runners and poor pitching. They had to come back from a 5-1 deficit to win Game 162 and cement their top Wild Card spot.
The Sox will now host the Yankees at Fenway Park for their first Wild Card game in franchise history. The last time the Sox earned a Wild Card berth was before the current model, when it was just one team going into the ALDS fray.
This is a stunning culmination of a season that was expected to go nowhere. Ahead of the season, numerous outlets from Sports Illustrated to Baseball America picked the Red Sox to finish fourth in the division. One site even went so far as to declare them the “most boring Red Sox group of the past 20 years.”
Rafael Devers’ October heroics began in the 2017 ALDS
Coming up clutch in October is nothing new for Devers. In his rookie season in 2017, the third baseman was a postseason hero in the ALDS against the Houston Astros. In the four-game series, the youngest player in MLB at the time went 4-for-11 with three runs scored, two home runs, and five RBI. One of his home runs was an inside-the-park shot that made him the youngest player in MLB history to hit one in a postseason game.
Devers was essential to the 2018 postseason run as well, hitting .294/.351/.382 with a .734 OPS, 10 hits, a home run, seven runs scored, and nine RBI over 11 games between the ALDS and World Series. The following season, the Red Sox missed the playoffs, but Devers led the American League in doubles and led all of MLB in total bases.
Without Devers, the Red Sox would not be playing in their first Wild Card game this week. It would appear that he truly is built for October.