BOSTON (Interstat) — In a dramatic, back-and-forth contest that stretched to the final pitch, the Boston Red Sox mounted a steady comeback to walk off against the Detroit Tigers 4-3 on Friday night at a crisp Fenway Park.

A crowd of 37,052 watched as the Red Sox, held scoreless for the first three innings, chipped away at an early Tigers lead before center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela delivered the game-winning blow in the bottom of the ninth inning.

The victory improved Boston’s record to 88-72, while Detroit fell to 86-74 with just two games remaining in the regular season. The game, which lasted 2 hours and 37 minutes, defied pregame projections that heavily favored the Tigers and predicted a higher-scoring affair.

The contest began as a pitcher’s duel between Detroit’s Casey Mize and Boston’s Kyle Harrison. Both starters worked out of early jams, with Harrison escaping a bases-loaded situation in the top of the first inning by striking out Riley Greene and getting Andy Ibáñez to line out.

The stalemate was broken decisively in the top of the fourth inning. The Tigers’ offense erupted, batting around and plating all three of their runs. The rally started with a walk to Ibáñez, followed by a sharp single from Dillon Dingler. Parker Meadows then laid down a perfect bunt single to load the bases with no outs.

Javier Báez broke the scoreless tie with an RBI single to right field, scoring Ibáñez. Jahmai Jones then delivered the big blow, lacing a line-drive double into left field that cleared the bases, driving in Dingler and Meadows to give Detroit a commanding 3-0 lead. Harrison limited the damage by inducing a groundout and navigating around a walk to end the inning, but his night was over after three-plus innings, having allowed three runs on seven hits while striking out six.

Boston immediately responded in the bottom half of the frame against Mize. Alex Bregman led off with a ground-rule double, and Masataka Yoshida followed with an RBI single to center field, cutting the deficit to 3-1. Mize prevented a bigger inning by getting Romy Gonzalez to line out and then inducing an inning-ending double play from Rafaela.

From there, the game transformed into a bullpen battle, with Boston’s relievers effectively silencing the Tigers’ bats. Greg Weissert, who entered in the sixth, recorded four outs without allowing a hit. Zack Kelly worked a scoreless seventh, and Garrett Whitlock was dominant in the top of the eighth, striking out the side in order.

The Red Sox continued their methodical comeback in the later innings. In the seventh, Yoshida singled and advanced to third on a double by Rafaela. Nathaniel Lowe then brought Yoshida home with a sacrifice fly to center field, making the score 3-2.

Boston tied the game in the eighth against Detroit reliever Tommy Kahnle. Pinch-runner Nate Eaton, representing the tying run, scored from first base on a sharp single by Jarren Duran. Kahnle avoided further trouble by getting Trevor Story to ground into an inning-ending double play.

In the top of the ninth, Detroit threatened against Boston’s winning pitcher, Aroldis Chapman. Justyn-Henry Malloy led off with a double, but Chapman bore down, stranding the runner at third base by striking out Wenceel Pérez and Spencer Torkelson.

The stage was set for the bottom of the ninth. After Yoshida grounded out, Gonzalez kept the inning alive with a single to center field. Rafaela then stepped to the plate and launched a deep fly ball to right field that one-hopped the wall, scoring Gonzalez from first and sealing the 4-3 victory for the Red Sox.

The loss was charged to Kahnle, who fell to 1-5 on the season. Chapman earned the win, improving to 5-3.

Offensively, both teams collected 10 hits. Yoshida led the Red Sox with a 3-for-4 night, driving in one run and scoring another. Rafaela went 2-for-4 with the game-winning RBI. For the Tigers, Jones’ two-run double was the key hit, while Dingler and Torkelson each had two hits.

The victory gives Boston momentum heading into the final weekend of the season, while Detroit will look to rebound after a tough loss. The two teams are scheduled to continue their three-game series on Saturday afternoon at Fenway Park.