Rafael Devers' ninth-inning inside-the-park home run nearly rallied the Red Sox in a wild ALDS Game 4
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Though the Red Sox were eliminated from the postseason on Monday after falling to the Astros, 5-4, in Game 4 of the ALDS presented by Doosan, it wasn't for lack of effort. The team pulled out all the stops including getting a tandem start from Rick Porcello and Chris Sale and a big home run byAndrew Benintendi.
With the Red Sox trailing by two in the bottom of the ninth, the fire-balling Ken Giles was on the mound for his second inning when rookie Rafael Devers stepped to the plate. Devers had already made one great play on Jose Altuve's bunt attempt in the fifth and he showed Giles that he would not be overwhelmed. Behind in the count, 0-2, Devers laced the ball to left-center field. It just narrowly avoided George Springer's glove and it ricocheted back to the middle of center field.
The Astros outfield tried to gamely retrieve the ball and get it back in -- momentarily looking like the losing team in a particularly brutal game of gym dodgeball -- but it was too late. The race was on:
It was the first inside-the-parker for the Red Sox in the postseason in more than 100 years.
Unfortunately for Boston fans, history wouldn't repeat itself any more. That year the Red Sox defeated the Brooklyn Robins in five games.