In what turned out to be the opposite of what many had predicted, it was the Boston Red Sox who took out the Tampa Bay Rays in their best-of-five ALDS matchup.
It was capped by a Kike Hernandez walk-off sacrifice fly in Game 4 on Monday night. Per ESPN, the utility player for the Red Sox had a conversation with himself before his big at bat.
“I was just talking to myself,” Hernandez said. “You're about to win this game, so you need to work on slowing everything down and slowing your breathing down and slowing the game down and starting early and making sure that you see the pitch, and you're not just swinging at your shoes for no reasons for trying to be a hero.”
The talk ended up working, as Hernandez walked off the series for the Red Sox to punch Boston's ticket to the ALCS.
Boston started their postseason run with a one game, winner-take-all contest against the New York Yankees. They had no problems with The Bronx Bombers as they won the game 6-2. They carried that momentum into their series against Tampa Bay as the Red Sox took out the top-seeded Rays in just four games.
Next up, the Red Sox will face either the Houston Astros or Chicago White Sox in the ALCS. With Boston's offense firing on all cylinders, they absolutely have what it takes to bring home another World Series.