All 162 games count the same in the standings, but when it comes to deciding the playoff race, some carry more weight than others.

When all is said and done, Wednesday’s series finale against the Seattle Mariners may go down as one of the most important games of the season. Not only would Wednesday’s winner strengthen their position in a close playoff race, but they would also clinch the teams’ season series 4-3, earning a crucial tiebreaker that could easily come into play come season’s end.

That’s what was on the line when Rafael Devers stepped to the plate in the bottom of the 10th.

Devers hit a walk-off double to give the Red Sox a thrilling 3-2 win in 10 innings. The All-Star third baseman smoked the third pitch he saw off the Green Monster to score Tyler O’Neill from second, and before that reliever Zack Kelly survived a white-knuckle top of the 10th to keep the game scoreless, setting the table for Devers to give his team the win with one swing of the bat.

In the process, he also rendered moot what could have been among the most consequential calls of the season.

With the game tied 2-2 in the bottom of the seventh, two men on and one out, Rafael Devers hit a sky high pop-up to the right side of the infield. As the ball was in the air the runner at first, Tyler O’Neill made contact with Mariners first baseman Justin Turner before the ball was eventually caught by the second baseman.

But even though the ball was caught by another player, O’Neill was called for interference and ruled out, giving the Mariners an inning-ending double play.

Before the late-inning drama, the game started off as an old fashioned pitcher’s duel between two of the most promising young starters in baseball.

Mariners pitcher George Kirby started the game by throwing a knuckleball in tribute to the late Tim Wakefield, something he also did on the day Wakefield died last October. From there he went to work, shutting the Red Sox down over 5.1 strong innings in which he allowed just two runs on seven hits.

The first run came in the bottom of the first when Masataka Yoshida drew a walk, advanced to third on a Rafael Devers double and came home on a wild pitch. Boston couldn’t get Devers home from third, and Kirby wound up holding the Red Sox to 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position through the fifth inning.

In the meantime, Boston also watched its 1-0 lead turn into a 2-1 deficit thanks to an RBI single by Dylan Moore that tied the game in the fourth and a solo home run by Josh Rojas in the fifth that put Seattle ahead.

Boston finally broke through in the sixth when Dominic Smith doubled and Danny Jansen drove him in with an RBI single to tie the game at 2-2. That also chased Kirby from the game, snapping his streak of nine consecutive quality starts.

Meanwhile, Brayan Bello enjoyed one of his best outings of the season.

Entering the game with a 5.27 ERA, Bello has pitched much better lately and was excellent on Wednesday. He allowed two runs on six hits over 6.1 innings, and in the process he struck out seven for the fourth time in six July starts.

He was also efficient with his pitch count and didn’t appear phased when one of his cleats broke in the fifth inning, requiring a brief delay while he went back to the dugout to grab a new pair.

Bello did eventually run out of gas at the end of his outing, walking the nine-hitter Jason Vosler before allowing a single to Rojas with one out in the seventh. That prompted Cora to summon new deadline acquisition Lucas Sims, and he escaped the jam by drawing a Randy Arozarena flyout that was too shallow to score the go-ahead run at third, and after walking Cal Raleigh he drew a Justin Turner groundout to leave the bases loaded.

Though Boston missed its chance in the seventh thanks to the interference call, Josh Winckowski and Kenley Jansen pitched scoreless eighth and ninth innings to keep the game tied. The Red Sox also got another golden opportunity in the bottom of the ninth after Jarren Duran and Romy Gonzalez each singled with two outs — with Gonzalez winning a nine-pitch at bat in the process — but O’Neill struck out to send the game to extras.