The Boston Red Sox clinched the No. 5 seed in the American League postseason with a 4-3 win over the visiting Detroit Tigers in Sunday afternoon’s regular-season finale.
Masataka Yoshida and David Hamilton both homered, Ceddanne Rafaela went 2-for-3, and Jarren Duran had the game-winning RBI to lead Boston (89-73) past Detroit, which will be the No. 6 seed in the AL field after a late-season collapse.
Both teams scored three runs in the fourth inning, as the Red Sox responded to Javier Baez’s go-ahead, three-run home run with three runs on three straight hits during the bottom half.
The big inning helped make a winner out of Jose De Leon (1-0), who struck out eight and allowed just the three runs in a quality start of 6 2/3 innings. He was recalled from Triple-A Worcester before the game for his first MLB appearance since 2023.
Along with Baez, Andy Ibanez (3-for-3) and Parker Meadows (2-for-4) paced Detroit (87-75) on a nine-hit day. Chris Paddack (5-12) pitched 4 1/3 innings in the loss, allowing four hits and seven runs while striking out five. The Tigers have lost 13 of their last 16 regular-season games and were overtaken by the Cleveland Guardians for the AL Central crown.
The Tigers and No. 3 Guardians will meet in the first round of the AL wild-card series. Cleveland trailed Detroit by 15 ½ games in the division race on July 9.
Connor Wong started Boston’s fourth with a one-out walk and scored as Hamilton cranked a two-run job into the right-center field bullpen.
Nick Sogard and Duran followed Hamilton with back-to-back doubles to give the Red Sox the lead back for good. Duran’s deciding RBI came on a wall-ball shot out to center.
Steven Matz induced an inning-ending ground ball in the seventh after De Leon exited the game. Zack Kelly and Greg Weissert finalized the game with scoreless innings.
Weissert stranded the tying and go-ahead runs on base in the ninth, striking out two to post his fourth save of the season.
Yoshida got the Red Sox going with a solo homer in the first. It was a two-out shot into the right-field corner, giving the designated hitter hits in eight of his final nine games of the regular season.
De Leon opened with just three hits allowed across three scoreless innings, using the first of two double play balls turned behind him to get through the third unscathed.
Detroit’s first three batters of the fourth reached as Justyn-Henry Malloy and Kerry Carpenter hit back-to-back singles, and a Wenceel Perez fielder’s choice preceded Baez’s homer over the Green Monster in left-center field.
Relievers Paul Sewald and Tanner Rainey pitched 3 2/3 no-hit innings of relief to finish the game for the Tigers.
