The Boston Red Sox became Major League Baseball's latest team to clinch a playoff berth and did so in dramatic fashion on Friday night. They trailed the Detroit Tigers, 3-1, through six innings, but then scored a run in the seventh and another in the eighth to tie it up heading to the ninth inning. And then Ceddanne Rafaela hit a playoff-clinching walk-off triple that scored Romy Gonzalez from first base to give Boston a 4-3 win.

In turn, the Red Sox will be making their first trip to the postseason since 2021, when they lost to the Houston Astros in the American League Championship Series.

Boston can credit its success to a few key contributors in particular. Southpaw Garrett Crochet , acquired from the Chicago White Sox last offseason, had a year that could earn him a second-

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