A throng of 35,856 was electrified throughout the night by the presence of the Banner 18-celebrating Celtics. Energy coursed through the ancient venue in a closed circuit. The crowd erupted each time the Celtics came into view – usually holding aloft the O’Brien Trophy – on the scoreboard, particularly in the late innings. The players felt the energy and reflected it back into the game, into the crowd, into the Celtics.
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The Sox clawed back from a 6-2 deficit with four runs in the eighth inning before pushing ahead when Jarren Duran grounded a single through the right side of the infield to score Ceddanne Rafaela from second in the ninth. It was the first walkoff hit of Duran’s career.
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“Maybe [the Celtics] hyped us up a little before the game and we could get that walkoff for them,” said Duran. “To see them stay the whole game, and [Celtics guard Derrick White] was wearing a ‘Baseball Isn’t Boring’ shirt,’ so it was like, ‘All right, that means you guys have got to stay the whole time because it’s not boring.’”
This was not boring. These Red Sox, while putting together a 10-2 run over the last two weeks, certainly have not been boring.
Rewind. On June 11, it seemed possible the Sox were about to fade from plucky upstart status.
They’d lost the first game of a three-game series against a Phillies squad that possessed the best record in the National League. The Sox were one game under .500, trailing, 4-0, in the fourth inning of the second game of that series, at risk of falling two below for the first time since May 18, and had yet to win a series all season against a team with a record over .500.
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And then, the Sox stormed back from that deficit to secure an 8-4 win, built on that with another to take two of three from the Phillies, built on that by taking two of three at home against the Yankees (who had the best record in the AL), built on that by sweeping the Blue Jays in Toronto, built on that by winning a road series in Cincinnati, and finally came back to Fenway on Monday with a rabbit-from-a-hat comeback (albeit against a freefalling Blue Jays team that, with seven straight losses, is plummeting towards a selloff).
And with it, members of the Red Sox experienced the sort of charge that Fenway can offer and few other venues can match.
“The environment was incredible,” Sox manager Alex Cora said postgame, the shouts of fans on the street echoing inside the interview room. “[The Fenway Park operations team] did an amazing job using [the Celtics] to get the fans going. Today was loud. [The fans] were locked in. They stayed all the way to the end. I think it was a great night at Fenway. I know the boys probably had fun today. . . . I think this is the most they’ve been into the game and loudest since ‘21, to be honest with you.”
Over the last 12 games, the Red Sox have started to make a habit of forging electrifying comebacks. Monday marked the team’s fourth comeback win over the 10-2 stretch, and third time erasing a deficit of at least three runs.
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The stretch has transformed the perception about what might be possible this summer. After pitching carried the Sox to respectability early in the year, the team — beset by the loss of several players — seemed deeply mediocre in all phases of the game in May.
But June has seen the team come roaring to life, led by a live-wire style of unrelenting baserunning aggressiveness (31 steals, most in MLB) complemented by a shower of extra-base hits (74, fifth 5th most) from young gamers who seem to be leveling up with each victory.
“A lot of guys are pretty young on this team, so I think you’re seeing them mature as baseball players in front of your eyes,” said pitcher Tanner Houck. “You’re seeing everything coming together.”
As the season nears the halfway mark, it’s impossible not to wonder: Is this level sustainable for the Red Sox? Is their 43-36 record — which has them in possession of the third wild-ard berth — a reflection of not only what has happened but what can continue?
At a certain point, the doubts and skepticism about a team that most forecast to endure a third straight last-place finish have to give way to an acknowledgement of what has actually transpired. The Red Sox have forged an unexpected path, emerging as not only relevant but increasingly compelling to watch — a development that may end up prompting some very unexpected questions with the trade deadline now just over five weeks away.
“We’re rolling right now. We’re staying together. We’re just having fun,” said Duran. “That’s what baseball is all about — having fun.”
Alex Speier can be reached at alex.speier@globe.com. Follow him @alexspeier.
