Ex-Red Sox Utilityman, Athletics Manager Praises Boston Playoff Run

BOSTON — Mark Kotsay played an underrated role in one of the more thrilling, yet not often-enough discussed, playoff wins of the 21st century for the Red Sox.

Boston fell one game short of the World Series in 2008 after a Game 7 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Championship. The final game at Fenway Park that season took place in Game 5 when the Red Sox launched a stunning comeback.

The ballclub sat nine outs from elimination and trailed their AL East rivals 7-0 in the seventh inning. Boston’s lineup roared back in the late innings and tied the game in the eighth when Kotsay doubled and scored on a hit from Coco Crisp. J.D. Drew ultimately delivered the walk-off hit to score Kevin Youkilis in the ninth inning and complete the dramatic postseason victory.

Kotsay, now the manager of the Athletics, knows what’s at stake in a significant American League series this late in the season. His team sits 10 games under .500 while the Red Sox are in a contested battle for a wild-card spot. Those implications often bring a different energy to Fenway Park that Kotsay remembers well.

“It’s going to be electric,” Kotsay said Tuesday. “I know about playoff and close-to-playoff baseball in Boston. These games are really important. The support they’re going to get in the next three games in some ways will represent that type of atmosphere. Our young guys, it’s a big challenge for them to go through a pretty electric environment they haven’t been in yet.”

The teams finish their season series in a three-game set at Fenway after the Red Sox won the series in Sacramento earlier this month.

More MLB: Red Sox Infielder Alex Bregman Urged to Step Up for Final Playoff Push