It was a sunny, picture-perfect 70 degree day as the Boston Red Sox took the field for their last game as the 2018 World Champions against the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday, but it ended in Gatorade showers after the Sox won, 5-4, on a walk-off run.

It had been a weird year from the beginning for Boston, who began the season with a loss to the Toronto Blue Jays in a chilly home opener that spoiled the team's celebration of the 2018 World Series win.

That result foreshadowed the rest of the season, as the party of a championship in 2018 was followed by the hangover of 2019, both on and off the field. The Sox struggled throughout the year, eventually becoming the fifth team since 2012 to win the World Series one year and then fail to even qualify for the playoffs the next. (The list also includes the 2013 Red Sox.)

It was a performance that cost President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski his job. And soon after the start of the season, Manager Alex Cora found himself in the middle of national news when he declined the customary post-championship visit to the White House because he didn't feel comfortable visiting while Puerto Rico was still struggling to recover from Hurricane Maria.

Still, the final game of the year had a celebratory feel. Fans streamed down on the field pregame for the the final day of "Fan Appreciation Weekend" and took pictures with members of the team before the game.

The mood turned tense as the game got close into the final inning and the Sox risked ending the season on a four-game skid.

Heading into the final inning, the game was tied, 4-4, after Orioles right fielder Stevie Wilkerson robbed center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. of a home run on a highlight reel circus catch in the stands to keep the score even and get the last out of the eighth inning.

After Boston got three outs of their own, the Sox were back at the top of their order with a chance for a walk-off win. And that's exactly what right fielder Mookie Betts did when third baseman Rafael Devers singled into right field.

Baltimore failed to stop the ball off the bounce, giving Betts the chance to slip to second, and then to third. With the game on the line and the Orioles scrambling to recover, Betts went all the way home for the final run at Fenway for the year before a roaring crowd.

Betts was later on the receiving end of a Gatorade cooler from his teammates during the post game interview.

"I think everybody was kind of ready to go, so I just decided to go home," Betts joked with reporters after the game.

It was a long game to finish a long season that Betts admitted was rough. Speaking in the clubhouse after the game, he and his teammates simply looked tired.

"I mean, a lot of ups and downs," Betts said. "We never really got hot. So when that happens, this happens. So kind of disappointing, but you know, there's a lot of good things that happened throughout the season to be proud of."

Manager Alex Cora kept everything in stride and was already looking forward to the offseason.

"I was gonna be disappointed regardless," Cora said. "If we won 93 and make it, or we go to the World Series and we lose in seven games. You know, here, we know what we play for — it's to win World Series. And there's going to be only one world champion this year. Twenty-nine other teams are going to be very disappointed. And we're one of those 29."

There's a lot of questions about contracts and who the Sox will be bringing back. But after 162 games, the Red Sox season is done. But as they're already looking forward to spring training in Florida, hope springs eternal. Even in the fall.

This article has been updated with a minor correction to a quotation from Mookie Betts.