The Red Sox have had their fair share of catastrophic late-inning collapses, and Friday was shaping up to be among the worst. The bullpen had already wasted a gem by Tanner Houck and blown a four-run lead, and with two outs in the bottom of the ninth a walk-off loss seemed inevitable.

Somehow, the Red Sox found a way.

After blowing the save in the bottom of the ninth, Kenley Jansen was able to strand the game-winning run at third base to force extra innings. Once there the Red Sox seized control, with Ceddanne Rafaela and Jarren Duran hitting back-to-back home runs to lead Boston to a massive 7-5 win in 10 innings.

“We grinded until the end,” Rafaela told NESN’s Jahmai Webster following the game. “That was a great ballgame, we stayed together and won as a team.”

Prior to the game the Tigers activated former No. 1 overall pick Casey Mize from the 60-day injured list, and Jarren Duran immediately greeted the Detroit right-hander with a leadoff double. Duran came around to score on a Triston Casas groundout, and he followed that up with another double his next time up to bat in the third.

Mize, who hadn’t pitched since June 30 due to a left hamstring strain, generated a steady stream of ground balls throughout his outing but the Red Sox were able to scratch a few runs across here and there anyway. Wilyer Abreu had a sacrifice fly in the third, Connor Wong hit an RBI double in the fourth and in the top of the sixth Wong came up again and took Mize deep for a solo home run.

Houck, meanwhile, was dominant.

Coming off a disappointing outing on Sunday in which he allowed six runs over six innings while tying a season-high with four walks, Houck was much sharper Friday against the Tigers. He allowed only three hits and two walks, struck out six, and generated seven whiffs.

Detroit only seriously threatened against Houck twice. In the bottom of the fourth the Red Sox right-hander hit two batsmen but got out of the jam by drawing an inning-ending fielder’s choice from Tigers outfielder Matt Vierling. Then in the sixth he allowed a double to Vierling and walked Kerry Carpenter to put two on with one out, but he was able to strike out Jace Jung and force a Spencer Torkelson flyout to finish his evening strong.

Dating back to Tuesday, Red Sox starters have now posted a 1.13 ERA over their last 24 innings.

“That’s why I’m very optimistic, I think we’re turning the page starter-wise,” manager Alex Cora said. “They’re going deep into the games, giving us a chance to win, and if we continue to do that it should be fun.”

The bullpen, however, is still having issues.

Brennan Bernardino came on and threw a scoreless seventh, but in the bottom of the eighth he allowed a leadoff walk, a single and then a three-run home run to Carpenter to make it a one-run game.

Justin Slaten cleaned things up and got two outs to end the threat, but Jansen quickly ran into trouble in the bottom of the ninth and couldn’t escape unscathed. Zach McKinstry reached on a leadoff single, stole second to move into scoring position and tied the game on an RBI double by Jake Rogers.

The Tigers then had a chance to win on a walk-off, but Jansen struck out Riley Greene with the winning run at third base to preserve the tie and force extras.

Once there Rafaela and Duran took care of the rest, with Rafaela launching a two-run bomb before Duran followed with a solo shot.

“Credit to Kenley, he got a big out at the end with Greene and gave us a chance to put up some runs in the 10th,” Cora said.

Duran finished 3 for 5 with two doubles and the homer, giving him 78 extra-base hits on the season, and Chris Martin finished things off in the 10th, allowing the extra-innings ghost runner to score on a groundout by Carpenter but otherwise throwing a 1-2-3 inning to earn the save.

The Red Sox are now 39-27 on the road this season, and 70-65 overall. First pitch Saturday is scheduled for 6:10 p.m.