The Boston Red Sox entered the ninth inning of their April 6 afternoon make-up game down, 4-2, against the St. Louis Cardinals. Boston didn’t have to do much to survive.

Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley seemingly had no idea where his pitches were going. He walked Trevor Story and Wilyer Abreu before Romy González cracked a line drive to left field to score the shortstop. Helsely let up another walk to Connor Wong and fanned Jarren Duran before Rafael Devers took the plate in a huge spot with the bases loaded.

Devers is back on track after a historic 0-for-19 start to the season. Boston’s designated hitter mashed his first home run to the top of the Green Monster to give the Sox a 2-1 lead in the fifth frame, but he was patient in front of the struggling Helsley. The closer quickly racked up two strikes against Devers — he took a massive cut at the first and watched the second zip by.

But Devers didn’t chase, and Helsley threw four straight balls to walk Devers and score the tying run. Alex Bregman fanned to end the inning and begin extras, where Aroldis Chapman took the mound for Boston. He walked Mason Wynn, the second batter of the frame, but got out unscathed with a blistering strikeout of Pedro Pagés.

Rafael Devers walks in game-tying run to send Red Sox to extra innings, set up potential sweep of Cardinals

Wisely, St. Louis swapped Helsley for Ryan Fernandez in the 10th inning. He set up a double play with Alex Bregman as the ghost runner on second and an intentional walk of Triston Casas. Trevor Story popped out to collect the first out of the inning, but the Red Sox’s next batter had been inevitable in the early goings of the season and wasn’t about to stop.

Abreu lifted a single that deflected high off the Green Monster to sore Bregman. The right fielder, who was scratched from Boston’s initial lineup with “heavy legs,” as Alex Cora called it, saved the day once again as a late sub. The Red Sox won the first of their two Sunday bouts with the Cardinals, 5-4, in dramatic fashion and set themselves up for their first sweep of the year.

Despite Abreu’s heroics, Devers’ gutsy at-bat kept Boston in the game. The slugger accumulated 15 strikeouts before he registered his first hit on the season on April 2 against the Orioles. He swung at strikes but was well behind them. Meanwhile, he’s severely limited his tendency to chase. Devers has worked eight walks in nine games, good for a 94th-percentile walk rate, and his chase rate is up in the 94th percentile, as well.

Devers’ improved eye and his first home run of the year are an excellent sign for the Red Sox. The top of Boston’s order struggled immensely at the plate to begin the 2025 slate, and Abreu was there to make up the slack. Now, they worked together to secure their fourth-straight win and set themselves up for a potential sweep of St. Louis before they finish their homestand with a divisional matchup against the Blue Jays.

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