BOSTON -- For the Red Sox, their first walk-off win of 2024 culminated with a bloop single from Tyler O'Neill that had an exit velocity of just 63.4 mph and an expected batting average of .110, according to Statcast.

But the popup trickled off shortstop Dansby Swanson’s glove in shallow left field at Fenway Park, and Boston had a 5-4 win over the Cubs in the rubber match of a three-game series on Sunday Night Baseball.

During his first month of the season, O’Neill has been known more for his thump (nine homers in 70 at-bats) than soft contact.

But on a night when the Red Sox lost a 4-1 lead in the top of the eighth on one swing -- a three-run homer by Chicago outfielder Mike Tauchman off reliever Chris Martin -- a winning bloop never felt so satisfying to O’Neill, who is the son of a former bodybuilding champion built like a powerhouse himself.

“It was awesome,” O’Neill said. “You could feel the crowd buzzing out there; I really wanted to come up big for those guys. I didn't get the job done earlier in the game to break it open. I knew the infield was in, so I was just kind of trying to put a good swing on anything elevated to get it in the air so it fell in there this time.”

Though O’Neill’s fortunate hit was the final act of the drama, there were some good things that led up to it. Here is a sampling.

Duran's walk

With the game tied in the bottom of the ninth, the Red Sox were pleased to have the top of the order coming up. In particular, they felt good about having the ultra-fast Jarren Duran leading off.

Facing the nasty offerings of Cubs righty Mark Leiter Jr., Duran fell behind in the count 0-2. At that point, it was hard to imagine Duran was going to draw the walk that would set the walk-off rally in motion.

In a season in which the Red Sox are riding their young players and getting some encouraging results, Duran showed his maturation by battling back in a seven-pitch at-bat.

“I knew he had a pretty good split and he would like to work down, so I was like, 'All right, I just need [him to come] up,”’ said Duran, who also laced a two-run triple in the sixth. “I was just looking for a ball up in my chin, honestly. And he just kept living down. So I was like, 'I'm going to give him down. If it’s a strike down there, I’ve just got to tip my cap because I can't go chase him down there.' So I was just looking to get him up and he just kept leaving everything down. So I just took the walk."

In other words, Duran had to walk before he could run. And when Rafael Devers hammered a 108.2 mph single to left, Duran used his 14.6-foot secondary lead to roar to third in 7.36 seconds while hauling at a sprint speed of 29.4 feet per second.

That left O’Neill in the ideal situation: Runners at the corners and nobody out.

“Duran moving from first to third on that is what sparks that, and the speed he has changes the game,” said Red Sox righty Tanner Houck.

Speaking of Houck ...

Houck claimed the fifth spot in Boston’s rotation at the end of Spring Training and, if not for a season-ending right elbow injury to Lucas Giolito, he might have been the odd man out.

It might be a while before anyone calls Houck a bubble candidate for the rotation again. Along with Kutter Crawford, Houck has emerged into co-ace for a rotation that has exceeded everyone’s expectations. Houck was marvelous in this one, allowing four hits and one run over 6 2/3 innings. He walked zero and struck out nine. Of his 95 pitches, 72 went for strikes.

Houck’s slider is devastating. His sinker purrs in at 96 mph. And his splitter has turned into a weapon.

“This is what I've been working toward the past few years, to be able to go deeper into games and give the team a chance to win,” Houck said. “So it was a lot of hours, a lot of months, years, weeks honing the craft and being able to compete at the highest level.”

Abreu's snag

Rookie right fielder Wilyer Abreu has suddenly become one of Boston's most indispensable players -- on both sides of the ball. While he had a down night offensively, Abreu made a tremendous running catch in front of the right-field wall to take extra bases away from Swanson in the top of the fifth.

“Outstanding,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “This kid shows up every day. He plays hard, pays attention, he plays good defense, and he hustles. We love him.”