The Red Sox punched their playoff ticket in wild fashion with a 4-3 win over the Tigers on Friday.

Locked at 3-3 in the bottom of the ninth with a runner on first for Boston, centerfielder Ceddanne Rafaela smashed a walk-off triple, securing a victory for the Red Sox and marking their first entry into the postseason since 2021.

When asked about what was going through his mind during the crucial at-bat, Rafaela said he knew he was going to win the game for Boston.

“I’m gonna finish it right there,” Rafaela said on the Apple TV+ broadcast after the win.

Currently, with an 88-72 record, the Red Sox occupy the second American League wild-card slot, maintaining a two-game lead over the Tigers, who are in third place.

“We didn’t come here just to play 162 games; we came to win the World Series,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora told his team in the locker room, setting the stage for a jubilant champagne celebration.

After Friday’s loss, the Tigers have just a 1/2 game lead over the Astros for the final playoff spot, as they continue to slide in the final weeks of the regular season.

Since July, Detroit has blown a 15 1/2-game lead to the Guardians in the AL Central. It would become the largest collapse in MLB history if Detroit can’t recapture the division in the last two games, according to ESPN.

“It’s painful,” Tigers manager AJ Hinch said after Wednesday’s 5-1 loss to the Guardians. “I’m having a hard time coming up with words, and I know that’s not the norm. But what I’m seeing out of our team is not normal. But it’s our reality.”

The Tigers are 1-9 in their last 10. Cleveland is continuing its surge with a 7-3 record over the same stretch.