The Red Sox held their own against ace Jacob deGrom, then pulled ahead for good once he left the game, holding off the New York Mets, 4-3. The win, No. 103 for the Sox, reduces the team's magic number to two for the A.L. East.
In a 3-3 game in the bottom of the eighth, Tzu-Wei Lin doubled, took third on a flyout and scored on a sacrifice fly by Andrew Benintendi.
The Sox had taken a 3-0 lead on deGrom in the third on a sacrifice fly by Mookie Betts and a two-run homer from Brock Holt.
The Mets scored twice in the sixth off the Boston bullpen, charged to Drew Pomeranz. They added a solo run in the seventh.
Chris Sale tossed three shutout innings, allowing just one hit.
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:
3:50 Red Sox scratch out the go-ahead run with a leadoff double by Lin, and two fly balls -- the second of which, a sac fly to center by Andrew Benintendi -- scores Lin.
3:16 Joe Kelly inherits a tough spot -- first and second, nobody out -- and retires the first two hitters he faces with a strikeout and flyout. But Rosario drives a single up the middle to score the tying run before Kelly get Jeff McNeil on a grounder to third to end the inning, stranding two.
2:48 Mookie Betts has left the game, and indications are it may be an aggravation of the abdominal issue that sidelined him earlier this year. Alex Cora could be seen pointing to his own left ribcage before going out to meet with Betts, who came out. Tzu-Wei Lin now in CF, with Bradley in RF. Lin has played a decent amount of OF in the minors.
2:38 Respect for Jackie Bradley's arm there as Amed Rosario doubles high off the wall, but third base coach Glenn Sherlock holds up Austin Jackson at third. Of course, it helps that there was no out.
1:54 Brock Holt's week: pinch-hit, 3-run HR on Tuesday; pinch-hit, two-run 2b Saturday; two-run HR off deGrom today.
1:46 Nicely executed hit-and-run from the bottom of the Red Sox' order, as Christian Vazquez reaches out and punches a single to right, with Rafael Devers off with the pitch and taking third.
1:42 Three innings and42 pitches for Sale -- he allowed one hit, struck out one and faced the minimum number of hitters. Based on the handshakes in the dugout and Hector Velazquez warming in the bullpen, looks like that's it.
1:16 Jacob deGrom doesn't need any additional help, but home plate umpire Bill Miller gave him some anyway. On a 3-and-2 slider that was well off plate, outside, Miller called strike three and Mookie Betts was out.
WHO: Red Sox (102-47) vs. New York Mets (69-79)
WHEN: 1:05
WHERE: Fenway Park
WHAT'S UP: This is the final game of the series, with the teams having split the first two games. The Red Sox won 5-3 Saturday, overcoming a 3-1 Mets lead to do so. The Red Sox enter Sunday with a magic number of four to clinch the division. Red Sox are 5-1 in their last six games and 12-5 in their last 17. Boston needs four more wins in its final 13 wins to set a franchise record for most wins in a season. With the series up for grabs today, the Sox have lost only two of their last 20 series since the start of July, going 13-2-5 in that span. The Sox are 15-4 in interleague games this season and with a win today can tie for their own franchise record for most interleague wins in a season. They went 16-2 in 2006 and 16-4 in 2017...Chris Sale starts for the Red Sox today, though he'll be limited in his pitches and innings. Last time out, he pitched one inning and allowed one hit and struck out two. He hasn't faced the Mets since 2013...Andrew Benintendi, who broke out of a mini-slump with two hits Saturday, set a career high with his 156th hit. His next run scored will be his 100th...Jackie Bradley Jr. tied a career high with his 30th double. His last three hits have all been doubles...Ian Kinsler has hit safely in his last 11 interleague games, tying him with the White Sox' Carlos Sanchez for the longest active streak in the game....Steve Pearce, who had three hits Saturday, is 7-for-15, with five RBI in his last six games...The Sox have won the last 13 of Christian Vazquez's interleague starts...The Mets saw a modest four-game winning streak snapped Saturday. They're 25-16 in their last 41 games and 9-1-2 in their last 12 series...The Mets have 19 homers in their last nine games and 48 in their last 34 games, ranking them third in that span...Jacob deGrom has held opponents to three runs or fewer in 26 straight starts, the longest single-season streak in MLB history. He's put together 21 straight quality starts.
STARTING PITCHERS: LHP Chris Sale (12-4, 1.96) vs. RHP Jacob deGrom (8-9, 1.71).
TV/RADIO: NESN/WEEI 93.7 FM
LINEUPS
RED SOX
Betts RF
Holt SS
Benintendi LF
Pearce DH
Moreland 1B
Kinsler 2B
Bradley CF
Devers 3B
Vazquez C
METS
Rosario SS
McNeil 2B
Flores 1B
Conforto LF
Frazier 3B
Bruce DH
Nimmo RF
Plawwcki C
Jackson CF
NEWS AND NOTES:
- In keeping with his practice of giving players a day off before a scheduled day off in the schedule, Alex Cora is resting both J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts Sunday.
- INF Eduardo Nunez, who aggravated a knee injury Thursday, is available but is out of the starting lineup with Rafael Devers getting another start at 3B