The Red Sox found a new way to torture the Mariners on Sunday night, clawing back from a 3-run deficit over the final 3 innings to win 9-8 in 10 innings at Fenway. It wasn't clean. It wasn't easy. But it ended the way most of these Fenway classics end lately -- with Boston mobbing someone at home plate.
Mickey Gasper got things started early with a home run that tied the game 1-1, the kind of blast that gets a light-hitting catcher an ironic 'most feared hitter in baseball' tag from the Barstool Baseball account. It's the 6th homer of the season for Gasper, hardly a household name, which is exactly why the joke works.
Mickey Gasper. One of the most feared hitters in baseball
Seattle answered and built an 8-5 lead late, and that's when Julio Rodriguez turned the game on its head. In the top of the 9th, with the Mariners up 8-7, Rodriguez dropped a fly ball in the outfield -- a costly misplay in a game that had already swung back and forth all night.
Oh no Julio
Boston kept the pressure on. Roman Anthony tripled and came around to score on a Ceddanne Rafaela sacrifice fly, tying the game and sending it to extras. The Barstool Baseball account caught Anthony sliding into third ahead of the tag, the play that put the tying run 90 feet from home.
Roman evades the tag and we are tied!
The 10th inning turned into a chess match. After a Nick Sogard sacrifice bunt moved the automatic runner to third, Seattle intentionally walked 2 straight batters to load the bases and set up a force at every base. It didn't matter. Trevor Story ripped a 3-2 sinker into center field to score the winning run, capping the comeback and pushing Boston to 75-63 on the season.
STORY TIME SOX WIN
Ryan Whitney summed up the vibe on X after watching it live: 'What a game at Fenway. The Sox with another walk off. SQUAD.' Another walk off is right -- this kind of ending has become a habit at Fenway this season, and the Mariners just found out the hard way what that looks like from the other dugout.