Red Sox season is still alive thanks to Tyler O'Neill's moonshot

BOSTON -- The Red Sox' season remains on life support. But Tyler O'Neill gave it a huge jolt Wednesday night with a monster walk-off homer against the Baltimore Orioles.

The Red Sox ended up taking two of three from the Orioles at Fenway Park thanks to O'Neill's big swing in Wednesday night's series finale. With Baltimore on top 3-2 in the bottom of the 10th inning, O'Neill stepped to the plate with two on and one out. After laying off a high fastball by O's reliever Keegan Akin, O'Neill put a charge into the lefty's 1-0 slider and sent it high into the night sky for a three-run, walk-off homer to lift Boston to 5-3 victory.

Statcast says O'Neill's blast traveled 393 feet over the Green Monster, but we're honestly not sure the ball has even landed yet. 

The dinger was O'Neill's 30th of the season and his fifth in the last five games. It was his second walk-off hit in a Red Sox uniform.

A giant celebration awaited O'Neill at home plate, as the "Not Dead Yet" Red Sox lived to fight another day in the AL Wild Card race. Losing Wednesday night would have put Boston five games behind the Minnesota Twins for the final American League playoff spot. 

Instead, the Red Sox remain four games behind Minnesota, who beat the L.A. Angels on Wednesday. A four-game deficit with 16 games to play -- and the Detroit Tigers sitting a game ahead of them as well -- isn't an ideal position to be in. But however slim it may be, the Red Sox still have a chance.

"It's still there. It's getting harder and harder, but it's realistic," manager Alex Cora said of the team's playoff hopes after the win. "We just won a series against one of the best teams in the big leagues. But obviously, in our situation, it's not enough. We've got to continue. We won two series here at home. For some people it doesn't feel great. But for us, it does."

The road doesn't get any easier for Boston, with 10 of those 16 games on the road. Seven of their remaining contests are against current playoff teams.

"We obviously needed this one. Hopefully, it's the beginning of something big," Cora added Wednesday. 

That something big is going to have to be a lengthy winning streak, or at least a lot more wins than losses to close the season. Taking three of four in the Bronx would be a good start to this seven-game road trip, which closes with a visit to Tampa for three against the Rays. After that, the Twins will come to Fenway Park for a crucial three-game set.

The surging Tigers, who are between the Sox and the Twins, now have a three-game set against the Orioles in Detroit. Minnesota will host the sub-.500 Cincinnati Reds for three games, while the Kansas City Royals (1.5 games up on the Twins) visit the Pirates for three games.

Time is running out for the Red Sox. But O'Neill's moonshot on Wednesday at least hit the snooze button on their potential elimination. Now it's up to the Red Sox to keep winning and keep the postseason dream alive.

In:
• MLB
• Boston Red Sox