BOSTON — As the Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles went into the bottom of the ninth locked in a 2-2 game, the stakes for Boston loomed clear on the Green Monster scoreboard.

The Detroit Tigers had already won 7-4 and the Minnesota Twins held a late 6-3 lead over the Los Angeles Angels. The Red Sox already have enough ground to make up in the American League wild-card race, and time is not on the club’s side.

Simply put, this was one the Red Sox couldn’t afford to lose.

For at least one more night they managed to keep pace, winning Wednesday’s series finale 5-3 on a walk-off three-run home run by Tyler O’Neill in the bottom of the 10th. With the victory, the Red Sox remain four games out of a playoff spot with 16 games to play.

Nick Pivetta worked his way out of an early jam after Colton Cowser reached on what was scored a triple but probably should have been ruled an error. Cowser hit a sky high pop-up into shallow left field, and while Trevor Story was able to cover close to 100 feet of ground, he couldn’t hang onto the ball. That put Cowser at third with one out, but Pivetta was able to strike out Austin Slater and Jackson Holliday to end the second inning, roaring as he left the mound after punching out Holliday with a 95 mph fastball.

The Red Sox starter wasn’t so fortunate in the top of the third. Pivetta allowed a leadoff solo home run to Baltimore’s No. 9 hitter, Emmanuel Rivera, but the Red Sox quickly tied the score in the bottom of the frame. Jarren Duran singled, Rafael Devers walked and Wilyer Abreu hit an infield single to third that Rivera threw away, allowing Duran to score.

Boston squandered a chance to add on with two men in scoring position, but capitalized on a similar opportunity in the fourth. With men at first and third and two outs, Ceddanne Rafaela blooped a low curveball into left field to put the Red Sox up 2-1.

Pivetta found himself in a similar jam in the fifth as he did in the second when Gunnar Henderson reached on a single and advanced to second base on an ill-advised throw to first by right fielder Wilyer Abreu. Henderson then moved to third on a wild pitch, but Pivetta left him stranded by striking out Cedric Mullins.

The right-hander wound up striking out nine over six strong innings, allowing one run on four hits and one walk. His Orioles counterpart, right-hander Dean Kremer, also pitched well, allowing two runs (one earned) over seven innings with five hits, two walks and seven strikeouts.

As has too often been the case lately, Pivetta’s start went to waste because the offense couldn’t score enough runs and the bullpen couldn’t hold the lead. After Chris Martin pitched a scoreless seventh, Justin Slaten allowed a solo home run to Anthony Santander in the eighth that tied the game at 2-2. The Red Sox then let two more opportunities pass, coming away empty handed after getting two men on with one out in the eighth, and again after getting the winning run into scoring position in the bottom of the ninth.

Finally, after the Orioles took a 3-2 lead in the 10th on Rivera’s RBI single to score the extra-innings ghost runner, Boston got men at first and third with one out after Romy Gonzalez reached on an error.

That set the stage for O’Neill, and the big righty sent the fans home happy with his 30th home run of the season.

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