BOSTON — Instant reactions as the Red Sox (23-24) come all the way back from two, big early deficits (5-0 and 6-1) to walk off the Braves, winning 7-6, on the first career walk-off homer of Rafael Devers’ career:
1) It’s hard to characterize Saturday’s win as anything but the best of the season for the Red Sox, who looked to be well on their way to a season-high fifth loss after Lucas Giolito gave up three early homers and Atlanta took a 5-0 lead in the second. But the Sox clawed back with multiple runs in three separate innings, then won it when Devers absolutely demolished a Pierce Johnson pitch into the bullpen at Fenway. The bat flip signaled that it was a no-doubter.
Devers, who was batting in the eighth inning when Jarren Duran was caught stealing to end the inning, got a hanging 2-1 curveball from Johnson and didn’t miss it, smoking it 107.3 mph off the bat. It traveled 402 feet.
2) A Red Sox team that looked dead in the water early after Giolito’s struggles fought hard to get back in the game. No. 9 hitter Ceddanne Rafaela sparked a seventh-inning rally before Devers (RBI single) and Alex Bregman (RBI double) delivered big hits to make it 6-4 against Enyel De Los Santos. In the eighth, it was once again the bottom of the order that got things going.
Abraham Toro doubled and Carlos Narváez singled before pinch-runner David Hamilton stole second to put the tying run on second. Duran, facing Johnson, then did all he needed to, lacing a single through the right side to plate two runs.
The Red Sox hadn’t own a game after trailing by 5+ runs at Fenway since April 1, 2023. They are now 5-12 in one-run games. It was the fourth Red Sox walk-off win of the season.
3) Duran had a phenomenal all-around night for Boston. Before the eighth-inning heroics, he smoked a two-run, third-inning homer off Grant Holmes (108.2 mph, 411 feet), then threw a man out at home when Alex Verdugo unwisely tried to score on an Olson single in the sixth. Duran has only homered three times this season and his blast was his first since April 29 (70 plate appearances). He seems to be breaking out of his slump.
Saturday’s game matched a career-high in RBIs (4) for Duran.
4) To characterize the beginning of Giolito’s season as inconsistent would be a massive understatement. He has on an every-other-start basis with good performance, and two of his last three outings (both at Fenway) have been disastrous.
His night began with back-to-back homers from Matt Olson (two-run) and Marcell Ozuna (solo) in the first. Drake Baldwin crushed a two-run dinger of his own in the third. When it was all said and done, Giolito needed 87 pitches to get through four innings and allowed six runs on eight hits.
His ERA stands at 7.08 — and that’s including an excellent start (1 ER in 6 ⅔ innings) Sunday afternoon in Kansas City.
5) Statcast is broken if Ozuna’s first-inning homer, which got out of Fenway in a hurry and cleared everything, only measured 417 feet. He took his sweet time rounding the bases, too.
6) The much-maligned Garrett Whitlock (10.80 ERA in his last 5 outings) pitched a scoreless eighth, though there was a walk and a hard-hit flyout by Austin Riley. Still, though, progress.
7) Trevor Story’s struggles have been well-covered, and he has truly been a black hole in Boston’s lineup for much of the last few weeks. But he showed signs of life in the loss with a sharply hit single in the sixth and deep flyout in the eighth (that was almost a homer). He may be close to breaking out.
8) In what might be a new addition to the in-game presentation at Fenway, Aroldis Chapman’s entrance montage began with fellow Cuba native — the late, great Luis Tiant — smoking a cigar in a video, then blowing smoke before Chapman highlights. It’s a nice touch in the late innings.
Chapman then flirted with wildness, walking Ozuna with one out before drawing a 3-0 count against Sean Murphy. But he worked his way back to strike Murphy out, then after an Ozzie Albies single put the go-ahead run in scoring position, struck out Michael Harris II. Chapman was credited with the win.
9) The Red Sox will hope righty Brayan Bello (2-0, 2.33 ERA) will be able to take a step forward in Sunday’s series finale after failing to get through five innings in each of his last two start. Bello’s FIP (5.55) suggests he has been worse than his ERA states through five starts this year. The Braves will start talented righty Spencer Schwellenbach (2-3, 3.31 ERA) in the rubber game. First pitch is at 1:35 p.m ET.
