​The New York Mets came tantalizingly close to delivering a well-rounded, impressive win before the All-Star break, but, as has been the pattern with the 2026 team, it was not to be. In a Sunday afternoon defeat to the Boston Red Sox, New York squandered a superb outing by starter Zach Thornton, who allowed only two runs on a tough-luck night as Boston pulled away to win 3-2 and complete a sweep, extending their winning streak to nine games. The loss dropped the Mets to 17 games below .500, their worst midseason mark in 31 years.
Thornton delivered seven scoreless innings, punching out five in just his third Major League start, while Francisco Lindor did most of the Mets’ heavy lifting at the plate, driving in both runs with a homer and an RBI double. Yet his fielding miscue in the ninth inning proved costly, giving Boston life when the game should have ended, and the momentum shifted decisively in the visitors’ favor.
Luke Weaver came on to relieve Thornton in the eighth and escaped without a blemish, extending his scoreless streak to 26 innings. The tide turned in the ninth, however, when Devin Williams entered with the chance to notch his 100th career save but instead stumbled, issuing two walks and two hits. The pivotal hit for Boston came on a routine double-play ball Lindor should have turned into an inning-ending out. Instead, Jarren Duran, mired in a 0-for-15 skid, lined a bloop single that scored two runs and tied the game at 2-2.
Boston completed its rally in the 10th when Anthony Seigler hit a sacrifice fly to score Masataka Yoshida, giving the Red Sox a 3-2 lead. The Mets could not push Tyrone Taylor across in the bottom of the frame, slipping into a heartbreaking loss that felt particularly cruel after the earlier strong performance.
Still, there were clear silver linings to savor amid the disappointment, notably Thornton’s showing. He was sharp and efficient from the start, delivering a standout first four innings in which he faced only one batter past the infield, throwing 39 pitches—marking the fewest by a Mets starter to navigate the first four frames all season. In light of the rotation’s injuries and earlier struggles, that efficiency was a bright spot, underscored by Thornton’s glove work, including a nonchalant snag on a Wilyer Abreu line drive in the fourth.
Andruw Monasterio provided Boston’s first hit of the game with a double off Thornton in the fifth, but the left-hander regrouped, fanning Duran and getting a groundout from Eaton to escape trouble. In a similar vein, Connor Wong’s leadoff single to begin the sixth inning did little to derail Thornton, who retired the next three Red Sox to keep the Mets in the contest.
The Mets did threaten again early, with AJ Ewing starting the scoring sequence by leading off with a double off Payson Tolle of Boston. Ewing’s speed and timely hitting could have provided a different mood to the game, but the night would ultimately belong to the Red Sox in a game that underscored both the potential and the fragility of this Mets squad.