BOSTON -- The losses and the frustration had been piling up for the Red Sox of late, and those troubles threatened to mount again on Monday afternoon.

This time, a slumping team took action to reverse its fate.

Travis Shaw emphatically welcomed himself back to Boston and the Red Sox ¨C his original franchise -- with a walk-off grand slam at Fenway Park to seal an 8-4 victory in 11 innings over the Rangers.

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But it became possible when Garrett Whitlock did a brilliant job in relief (2 2/3 innings, one hit, one unearned run, no walks, four strikeouts) after Matt Barnes suffered his sixth blown save of the season.

And it became even more possible -- perhaps even probable -- when Rafael Devers swatted a game-tying 414-foot double with the Red Sox one strike away from defeat in the bottom of the 10th.

¡°Yeah, that¡¯s a big hit by Raffy,¡± said Shaw. ¡°He falls behind in the count right there. The guy is on first, too, so you¡¯ve got to drive it in the gap for him to score on one hit, and he was able to do that. I¡¯m pretty sure that¡¯s a homer in 28 or 29 other ballparks. The game could have ended there, but the uniqueness of Fenway, it¡¯s a double, but big spot right there, down in the count, two outs, and we needed it.¡±

Perhaps the stage was set before the game when veterans Xander Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez and Chris Sale spoke during an impassioned team meeting.

¡°We¡¯re going to keep that in-house for the most part, but the biggest thing to come from it was just that we want to play energized,¡± said Alex Verdugo, who provided early energy with a two-run homer. ¡°That¡¯s it. It doesn¡¯t matter if something good is happening, bad is happening. It feels good to hear that.

¡°When you¡¯re in the box and hear your guys cheering you on from the dugout, it makes a hitter lock in a little bit more. Some people think that¡¯s what Little Leaguers do. Well, that¡¯s what brings energy. That¡¯s what gets you going.¡±

Verdugo made sure that Devers heard him just before the slugging third baseman -- who is having a tremendous season but a tough August -- unloaded for his equalizing knock to the triangle in right-center that got Fenway roaring as Bogaerts scored all the way from first.

¡°And then Devers going down 0-2, kind of just yelling from the dugout, yelling at him, ¡®Win this pitch. Win this pitch. Whatever happened was in the past. Learn from it, flush it, go forward, and just win that next pitch.¡¯ That¡¯s exactly what he did,¡± said Verdugo. ¡°He drove it [almost] 415 feet. It¡¯s great to see.¡±

After a clean 11th by Whitlock, Christian V¨¢zquez bunted automatic runner Hunter Renfroe to third, and the Rangers made an error on the play, allowing V¨¢zquez to reach with nobody out.

Texas manager Chris Woodward then issued an intentional walk to Verdugo, putting the game in the hands of Shaw, who had gone 0-for-5 while being used sparingly in his first week back with the Red Sox.

With the count full, Shaw got a 97 mph sinker from Dennis Santana and destroyed it, sending it over the Boston bullpen and into the bleachers for a game-ending slam that traveled a projected 423 feet.

¡°Huge. Huge hit. He worked the count. He's a guy that we know he can put a good at-bat together,¡± said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. ¡°Usually he doesn't expand, and that was a huge swing for us.¡±

For Shaw, it was one sweet trot around the bases for his first Fenway homer since July 24, 2016.

¡°Yeah, it¡¯s special. Anytime you get DFA¡¯d and a team claims you and gives you a second life, it means a lot to get claimed,¡± said Shaw. ¡°It shows that there¡¯s still a role for you, whatever role that is down the stretch. Just looking to kind of help out. Good start today. Good first hit back. Wouldn¡¯t have it any other way.¡±

It didn¡¯t seem like the Red Sox were going to need all those late-game heroics when Nathan Eovaldi departed after seven masterful innings (four hits, one unearned run, no walks, seven strikeouts) with a 3-1 lead.

However, Barnes (15.19 ERA in August) couldn¡¯t hold that lead in the ninth.

The Red Sox got some measure of momentum back when Whitlock came into a mess -- runners on second and third and one out -- and kept the game tied.

The Rangers took their first lead in the 10th on Nathaniel Lowe¡¯s single through the shortstop hole that scored the automatic runner from second. The Red Sox had a counterpunch from Devers and a knockout blow by Shaw.

Though the Red Sox, who are 8-15 since July 29, trail the first-place Rays by 6 1/2 games in the American League East, they are right there in the AL Wild Card hunt, in possession of the second spot by one game over Oakland after Monday's slate.

¡°Today just felt good,¡± said Verdugo. ¡°Obviously it sucked to give up the lead, but to fight back, chip back, to have, when it felt like the guys¡¯ demeanors, the attitude, the quality of at-bats, it felt like none of that deteriorated. None of that went downhill.¡±