Trevor Story walks it off as Red Sox rally past Mariners in wild 9-8 win

The Red Sox spent Monday night taking leads, giving them away and fighting their way back.

Trevor Story made sure the last lead belonged to Boston.

Story delivered a walk-off single to cap a wild 9-8 victory over the Mariners at Fenway Park, completing a comeback in which the Red Sox scored four runs over the final three innings.

Boston had led 5-3 before Seattle erupted for four runs in the sixth and added another in the seventh to build an 8-5 advantage. The Red Sox chipped away with two runs in the eighth before Roman Anthony sparked the tying rally in the ninth.

Anthony led off the inning with a triple after center fielder Julio Rodríguez misplayed the ball, then scored easily on Ceddanne Rafaela’s sacrifice fly to left. He also recorded his team-leading 41st multi-hit game of the season.

That forced extra innings and eventually set the stage for Story, who singled home the winning run to complete Boston’s comeback. It was Story’s second big hit late in the game after his wall-ball double helped Boston score twice in the eighth.

For a Red Sox team coming off an ugly weekend in New York, including consecutive losses in which the Yankees outscored them 25-3, it was quite the response.

Mickey Gasper didn’t waste any time making his return felt, either. Gasper was optioned to Triple-A Worcester on Sunday to make room for Anthony, only to return less than 24 hours later when Willson Contreras was placed on the injured list with a left hamstring strain.

Starting at first base Monday, Gasper launched a solo homer in the bottom of the first, his sixth home run in his last 12 games.

Gasper capped a ridiculous August by hitting .400 (12-for-30) with a 1.671 OPS. According to Elias Sports Bureau, Gasper’s 1.671 OPS ranks as the fifth-highest by a major league hitter in a calendar month since 1898, trailing only Ted Williams (2.314 in September 1957), Barry Bonds (1.828 in April 2004), Carlos Peña (1.754 in August 2005) and Bonds again in August 2003.

As long as Gasper keeps hitting like this, the Red Sox will find somewhere to put him.

Gasper also filled in admirably at first base with Contreras sidelined, particularly in the ninth inning. He made a pair of nice picks to save two throws from Story, helping Alec Gamboa strand the potential winning run at third base and send the game to extra innings.

Jarren Duran added to Boston’s early offense in the second, launching his 19th homer of the season into the right-field seats. Duran is now two shy of his career high of 21, set in 2024. He also has 18 stolen bases, putting him within reach of the second 20-homer, 20-steal season of his career.

The power surge has helped offset what has otherwise been a disappointing offensive season for Duran, whose average remains below .210. Only Contreras and Wilyer Abreu have hit more homers for Boston this season.

The early offense gave Payton Tolle some room to work, but the rookie couldn’t make it hold up.

Tolle allowed a run in the first before Boston moved ahead, then surrendered the tying run in the fifth. He did well to limit the damage after Seattle loaded the bases with nobody out, escaping the inning having allowed only one run.

His luck ran out in the sixth after he issued a leadoff walk and was removed two batters later as the Mariners began a four-run rally that turned a 5-3 Boston lead into a 7-5 deficit.

It marked the third consecutive start in which Tolle