Red Sox

Watch: Alex Verdugo’s just-fair hit against Twins leads to bizarre walk-off celebration for Red Sox

Verdugo's walk-off hit ended a three-run rally for the Red Sox in the bottom of the 10th.

By Conor Ryan

April 18, 2023

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Email
• Email
• 17

Baseball is a game of inches.

That mantra was validated by one of the wildest endings to a Red Sox game in recent memory on Tuesday night.

Alex Verdugo provided the heroics for Boston against the Twins, driving in Reese McGuire with an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th for a 5-4 walk-off win.

But for a few brief seconds, both Boston and Minnesota were stuck in a state of limbo, with the flashing lights at Fenway contrasting the confusion on the field.

With McGuire stationed at third base in a 4-4 ballgame, Verdugo sliced a 2-2 changeup from Jovani Morán that sailed out to right field.

The ball initially seemed destined to hook foul before the Pesky Pole, but it dropped fair by only a few inches. And with Twins right fielder Max Kepler moseying over to the lazy fly ball, he wasn’t close to corralling it before it bounced off the wall and onto the field for a hit.

As Verdugo’s teammates stormed out of the dugout in celebration, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli called for a manager’s challenge to determine if the ball was fair.

It led to a bizarre sight, with a number of Sox players awkwardly awaiting some good news around an equally confused Verdugo.

The ball was eventually ruled fair, confirming Boston’s first walk-off win of the season. In fitting fashion, Verdugo also ended his postgame interview with a flourish.

“Please be [expletive] fair,” Verdugo said on the live NESN broadcast about what was going through his mind during the Twins review.

Verdugo’s walk-off single ended a wacky game for the Sox, who scored three runs in the bottom of the 10th after McGuire drove in two with a single out to left field. Tuesday’s matchup at Fenway also featured a double switch that had pitcher Kutter Crawford serving as a pinch-runner in extras.