The Mets never found a groove against the Red Sox on today, and the result was another blank night at the plate in a 4-0 loss. It was their ninth shutout of the season, even though the pitching and defense did enough to keep the game from getting away early.
Freddy Peralta opened with a clean first inning, leaning heavily on his fastball and striking out the side in order. The second inning was a different story.
Caleb Durbin punched a single through the middle between Francisco Lindor and Brett Baty, and after a challenge on ball 4 was upheld, Masataka Yoshida drew a walk. Andruw Monasterio then moved both runners up with a sacrifice bunt, and Carlos Narváez loaded the bases with a walk.
Peralta escaped by striking out Tsung-Che Cheng, but he had already thrown 43 pitches by the end of the inning.
The Mets’ offense spent most of the afternoon spinning its wheels. They drew a walk in the second and third innings, but nothing came of either frame.
Carson Benge walked in the second and stole second on the next pitch, only to watch the next three hitters go down in order. In the third, Brett Baty walked, but Zack Short struck out, A.J.
Ewing grounded into a force out, and Juan Soto popped out to end the inning.
The game broke open in the fourth. Peralta walked Durbin to start the inning, and after Yoshida flied out to Soto, a strange injury delay followed when a ricochet hit the face masks of both Francisco Alvarez and home plate umpire Brock Ballou.
Monasterio then turned on a two-run homer to left. The Mets got a little life in the bottom half when Jorge Polanco fouled a ball off the inside of his knee, leading to another stoppage, then came back to line a single into center just beyond Ceddanne Rafaela.
That brought in Greg Weissert, who struck out Wagaman to end the inning with the Red Sox ahead 2-0.
Peralta’s night kept getting more stressful in the fifth. He walked Tsung-Che Cheng to open the inning, and Seigler reached on a force out after Short made a diving play to snuff out a hit.
The next two batters pushed him to the edge. Rafaela dropped a double just over Wagaman’s head and down the line, moving Seigler to third, and Abreu’s walk loaded the bases and pushed Peralta to 91 pitches.
Huascar Brazobán took over and immediately needed help from Alvarez, whose challenge turned ball three into strike three on Durbin. Yoshida then grounded out to first, leaving the bases loaded.
The Mets had a chance to answer in the bottom of the fifth, but that inning slipped away too. Alvarez was initially ruled out at first on a grounder, though the challenge overturned it.
Baty then struck out on a foul tip that got stuck under Narváez’s right arm, and a passed ball moved Alvarez to second. Ewing flew out, and the inning ended with another runner stranded.
From there, the Red Sox kept adding pressure. A.J.
Minter entered in the sixth and gave up a leadoff triple to Monasterio, but he shut down the rest of the inning. Brooks Raley followed with a 1-2-3 seventh.
The Mets, meanwhile, threatened in the bottom half when Wagaman walked and Alvarez singled into right for his second hit of the day. Bo Bichette, who had not played yesterday and was available off the bench because of soreness and bruises on his right leg and foot, pinch-hit for Short and walked to load the bases.
Tyrone Taylor then replaced him as a pinch runner, but Ewing struck out, and the Mets used their final challenge on the call without changing the outcome. Another bases-loaded chance disappeared.
The Red Sox put the game away in the eighth. Tobias Myers came in for Raley, allowed a leadoff single to Durbin, and then watched Yoshida launch a two-run homer to right to make it 4-0.
Soto and Lindor finally reached base to start the bottom of the inning, the first time either had done so all game, but Benge flied out to Abreu in right and Soto advanced to third. Polanco then grounded into a double play, ending the inning without a run.
Myers finished the ninth with another 1-2-3 frame. Alvarez walked to begin the bottom of the ninth, but Baty grounded into a force out for the second out, and Taylor flied out to end it. The Red Sox took the second game of the series, while the Mets were left looking for a win tomorrow in the final game before the All-Star break.
First pitch is set for 1:40 PM ET, with Payton Tolle starting for the Red Sox against TBD for the Mets.
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