​The New York Mets sit at 40-54 as they host the Boston Red Sox, who stand at 43-48, for a three-game series at Citi Field. What began as a potential rematch of the 2015 World Series now tilts toward a confrontation reminiscent of the 1986 clash, with Boston visiting Queens for three straight. The last time these two clubs met was in May 2025 at Fenway Park, where the Red Sox grabbed two of the three games. Before that, the Mets swept Boston at Citi Field in September 2024, adding another chapter to a recent history of competitive meetings between the teams.
Over the weekend against the Kansas City Royals, the Mets’ offense finally awakened and produced a productive series, taking two of three in front of their home crowd. Jorge Polanco returned to the lineup, though his first big-league action since April yielded only a modest two hits in eight at-bats. Still, New York managed to push 25 runs across those three games, marking a strong offensive performance and a sign of potential progress.
The series opener against Kansas City started disastrously for the Mets, who built a 9-4 lead only to fall 16-12. That three-spot moment in the bottom of the first, courtesy of an error-filled sequence—three misplays in a row—gave Kansas City a charitable set of runs that amplified the sting of the loss. The Royals also thwarted themselves with a runner picked off first and another thrown out at second on a steal attempt, both happening during Royals rallies and inflating the damage in earlier innings. Ultimately, pitching failures doomed New York, sealing the defeat.
Yet the tide turned in the remaining two games of the series. New York answered with two separate five-run innings—the eighth inning on Wednesday and the fifth on Thursday—pulling out victories. Their offense clicked with runners in scoring position, capitalized on defensive miscues by Kansas City, and delivered timely home runs when necessary. Those efforts helped the Mets secure the series win and set a more hopeful tone for their next contests.
If you zoom out beyond the three-game set, the Mets have put up 42 runs in their last five games through Sunday. They’ve gone 4-1 in that stretch and have looked more like the team fans and front office envisioned at the season’s outset. Earlier in the month, the club had struggled, scoring nine runs across their first three games (all losses), but since July 1, their offense has surged. They own a 133 wRC+ (fourth in MLB) and an .833 OPS (fifth in MLB) over that span, trailing only the Nationals, Marlins, and Pirates in wRC+ and OPS since July 1, with 51 total runs since the start of July tying for fifth in the league.
Polanco’s return on Tuesday yielded two hits in eight at-bats over two games, with a near homer that narrowly eluded him in his first stint back with the Mets. In a contrasting development, Mark Vientos was hit by a pitch on Thursday and sustained a broken bone, sidelining him for several weeks. While Polanco did not move to first base in either of his first two games back, the expectation is that he’ll resume his positional duties soon, though the club plans to ease him back gradually. In the interim, Jared Young and Eric Wagaman are likely to continue sharing most of the first-base duties, keeping the in-season adjustments efficient as the Mets navigate this stretch.
Looking ahead to the three-game set with Boston, the Mets will be aiming to capitalize on their recent offensive momentum, while the Red Sox will be seeking to steady themselves after their own recent results. The series promises to be a meaningful test as New York tries to sustain its improved form and Boston looks to find consistency against an opponent it has met multiple times in recent seasons.