Story Walks It Off as Boston Survives Arozarena's Four-Hit Masterpiece
Trevor Story singled to center in the tenth inning to score the winning run, lifting Boston to a 9-8 win over Seattle on August 31. Randy Arozarena went 4-for-5 with a homer, 4 RBI, and 3 runs scored — and still ended up on the losing side.
This one had no business being as chaotic as it was, and it was glorious for it. Seattle drew first blood in the first when a Rodríguez double scored Arozarena, but Boston answered immediately — Gasper homered to right center (387 feet) to tie it, then Duran went 409 feet to right in the second to put Boston up 3-1 with a two-run shot. It looked like the Red Sox were in control. They were not. Arozarena homered to left (402 feet) in the third to cut it to 3-2, and by the fifth he was at it again, singling to left to score Young and knot the game at three. Rafaela answered right back with a single to center that scored two and pushed Boston back ahead 5-3, but the lead evaporated fast.
The sixth inning is where this game turned — and then turned again. Arozarena singled to right to score two and tie it at five, and then Canzone doubled to left to score Arozarena and Crawford, flipping the scoreboard to 7-5 Seattle. That double swung Boston's win probability from 60% to 29%, a 31-point crater. Raleigh added a solo shot to left (355 feet) in the seventh to make it 8-5, and at that point Seattle looked like it had this locked. It did not. Boston's bullpen steadied — Alec Gamboa threw 2.0 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit — and the offense clawed back. Story doubled to left in the eighth to score two and make it 8-7. Rafaela's sacrifice fly to left in the ninth tied it at eight and forced extras.
The story of the night was Boston's refusal to let Arozarena's performance define the outcome. In the tenth, with a runner on third, Story singled to center to score White and end it, 9-8. George Kirby lasted just 5.0 innings for Seattle, allowing 5 earned runs on 7 hits. Payton Tolle gave Boston 5.2 innings with 4 earned runs and 6 strikeouts — workable, not dominant. Aroldis Chapman closed it out with a clean tenth: no hits, no walks, two strikeouts. Boston's win looks like a product of depth and resilience more than any single moment, though Story's walk-off single will be the image that sticks. Arozarena, for his part, appears to have done everything a player can do and still lose — and that, frankly, is the cruelest part of this one.