​After a brief delay, the Mets fell to the Boston Red Sox 6-2 at Citi Field on Friday night. With only two games remaining before the All-Star break, New York’s record stands at 40-55. The outcome was set early as Boston seized the initiative in the first frame.
The Red Sox jumped ahead quickly, with leadoff hitter Anthony Seigler reaching second on an error by Juan Soto as his lazy fly ball toward the foul line fell short. Two batters later, Mets starter Nolan McLean walked Wilyer Abreu, and with two outs, Masataka Yoshida delivered a line drive down the left-field line that brought home Seigler and Abreu. The ball’s path was aided by a tarp roll that temporarily stuck on the infield, and neither run was counted as earned, giving Boston a 2-0 lead before the Mets even settled in.
Down 2-0, the Mets answered in the third inning when Brett Baty extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a leadoff single and promptly swiped second, putting a runner in scoring position with none out. New York manufactured a scoring chance with runners on the corners after A.J. Ewing forced a baserunning miscue on a throw from the cutoff, which sailed into the outfield and allowed Ewing to advance to third. Juan Soto followed with a sacrifice fly, scoring Baty, narrowing the gap to 2-1. A later defensive miscue by Caleb Durbin on a would-be caught-stealing attempt allowed Ewing to move to third, but Francisco Lindor’s flyout ended the inning and the threat.
In the fourth, right fielder Carson Benge kept the Mets from letting that run balloon into a bigger score by gunning down Connor Wong at the plate as he tried to score from second on a broken-bat single by Tsung-Che Cheng. Benge’s throw preserved the one-run deficit, and Francisco Alvarez handled the tag with precision. The Mets began the bottom half of the frame with Benge setting the tone again by delivering a ground ball single, then stealing second with one out—a microcosm of the energy and aggression that characterized the rookie’s night.
McLean showed resilience by stranding two runners on second and third with one out in the top of the fifth, fanning Romy Gonzalez and inducing Yoshida into a groundout to end the frame. In a nod to the 1986 Mets’ legacy, Mookie Wilson joined the Apple TV broadcast during the fifth and praised the energy he’s seen from Benge and Ewing during their breakout rookie seasons.
McLean pitched six innings for the fifth consecutive start, handing the ball to A.J. Minter in the seventh. He was excellent, striking out seven while allowing five hits and zero earned runs, leaving the bullpen with a manageable margin to work with. The Mets added a third leadoff single in the sixth when Lindor opened the inning with a hit, but Baty grounded into a double play to thwart the chance, and Jorge Polanco grounded out to end the inning. Son of a former star, Red Sox right-hander Sonny Gray silenced the Mets for most of the night, delivering six innings of quality work, allowing just one earned run on five hits and striking out three.
Minter did allow an infield single in the seventh, a rare hiccup in an otherwise steady relief appearance, but the damage was contained as the Mets failed to mount a sustained rally. The final score sat at 6-2, with Boston preserving the win behind solid defense, timely hitting, and a steady start from Gray.
As the Mets head toward the All-Star break, the organizational chatter will shift to evaluating prospects like Benge and Ewing, whose early-season impact has sparked optimism in Queens. The club will look to recapture consistency and close the gap with late-season momentum, hoping to finish the first half on a high note and set the stage for a productive second half.