Pablo Reyes just made a real good case to keep his roster spot on Red Sox

BOSTON -- Hours after it was announced that Trevor Story would be activated from the IL on Tuesday, Red Sox shortstop Pablo Reyes made a strong case to keep his roster spot. It really doesn't get much better than the Monday evening that Reyes put together.

It's hard to end a game any better than Reyes did against the Kansas City Royals, smacking a walk-off grand slam to lift Boston to a 6-2 victory and snap a four-game skid. With a teammate at every base and the Red Sox down to their final out, Reyes turned on a 98.2 mph fastball and sent it off the foul pole in left for the walk-off granny. 

It was Boston's first walk-off win since May 1.

His night wasn't just one big swing, either. Reyes was 3-for-4 out of the 8-spot and matched his career high with four RBI to go with three runs scored. He started his evening off with a single in the third and then stole second base. Reyes went to third on an error and scored the game's first run on a Masataka Yoshida sac fly. In the fifth, Reyes doubled to right and then scored on a Connor Wong double to put Boston ahead 2-0.

Then came his big swing in the ninth, which nearly didn't happen. On the first pitch from Royals reliever Carlos Hernández, Reyes actually squared up to bunt. The pitch was high and Reyes pulled back for ball one, but it got Rafael Devers leaning at third -- and nearly got him picked off. That would have been a real devastating end to the rally, but pretty much par for the course for the Red Sox over the last week.

But Devers made it back in time and Reyes then turned on Hernandez's next fastball, sending it off the pole in left for his first career walk-off homer. It was also his first homer of the season in 33 games with Boston.

That swing couldn't have come at a better time, either. With Story set to join the active roster, the Red Sox will have to make a decision come Tuesday. Either Reyes or Yu Chang will likely be DFA'd to make room for Story.

Reyes, who was activated off the IL two weeks ago, may have made Chaim Bloom's decision a little easier with his Monday night heroics. He certainly has a fan in Boston skipper Alex Cora.

"He's a good kid and there's a reason he's here," Cora said after the win. "We like his versatility, we like his at-bats against lefties. You saw it [Sunday], controlling the zone against righties. He's a good player. He is a really good player and a good kid."

Given that Story hasn't played in a year, having a guy like Reyes to back him up will be important down the stretch. Reyes has started 15 games at shortstop and seven at second base, plus a relief appearance at third for Boston this season. He even did some mop-up relief pitching in Sunday's blowout loss to the Blue Jays. 

A little more than 24 hours after he was on the bump in a 13-1 loss, Reyes sent the Red Sox to a victory with one massive swing of the bat, potentially saving his spot on the team.