Another night, another close call.
The Red Sox hung on once more in the late innings, edging the New York Mets 4-2 for the second straight victory.
Christian Vazquez provided most of the offense with a solo homer and a two-run shot, giving him three homers in the two-game series.
Martin Perez gave the Sox six solid innings, allowing just two runs, a huge improvement over his first start last weekend.
Matt Barnes needed 37 pitches to get through the eighth inning and managed to eventually wiggle out of a bases-loaded mess.
The Sox added a big insurance run in the top of the ninth, taking advantage of wildness from Mets reliever Edwin Diaz.
WHO: Red Sox (2-4) vs. New York Mets (3-3)
WHEN: 7:07 p.m.
WHERE: Citi Field
SEASON SERIES TO DATE: Mets 2-1
STARTING PITCHERS: LHP Martin Perez (0-1, 7.20) vs. LHP Steven Matz (0-0, 1.50)
TV/RADIO: FOX/WEEI 93.7 FM
LINEUPS
RED SOX
Peraza 3B
Pillar CF
Martinez DH
Bogaerts SS
Vazquez C
Verdugo RF
Chavis 1B
Benintendi LF
Arauz 2B
METS
Rosario SS
Alonso 1B
McNeil 3b
Davis LF
Conforto RF
Cespedes DH
Dozier 2B
Ramos C
Nimmo CF
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:
10:21 A 37-pitch taffy pull of an inning for Barnes, who gets Andres Gimenez on an inning-ending chopper to first, leaving the bases loaded,.
10:03 Epic at-bat between Matt Barnes and Jeff McNeil, with McNeil spoiling a number of quality pitches down in the zone before finally lining out to left on the ninth pitch.
9:23 For the second straight night, Heath Hembree comes in from the bullpen and gets a huge out. Wednesday, he got pinch-hitter J.D, Davis to strand two in a tie game. Here, he fans Yoenis Cespedes to strand a runner in a one-run game.
8:54 It's been a little rocky at times, but Perez has given the Red Sox a chance here with five strong innings.
8:29 Michael Chavis finally collects his first hit of the season with a line drive to right. He had been 0-for-10 with six strikeouts.
8:25 Have a series, why don't you, Christian Vazquez? Two-run homer barely clears the fence, giving him two homers tonight, three in the two-game set and four for the season.
8:16 You can't issue two walks and hit another batter and not expect that it will come back to hurt you. Two-run single for Jeff McNeil scores two.
8:08 Peraza would have been far better off holding onto that ball after recording the forceout at third. Instead, Nimmo gets to advance to third.
8:04 Perez can't afford to issue leadoff walks, which he's done for two innings in a row.
8:01 Strange call for Jose Peraza to run there -- two outs, and Bogaerts at the plate. Yes, the lefty Steven Matz might be easier to run against, but reward not worth the risk.
7:49 Vazquez loves to show off his arm strength and why not? Guns down Michael Conforto at second from his knees
7:38 Alex Verdugo is an aggressive baserunner who enjoys forcing the issue and being aggressive. But that has to be curbed some and not run into outs like he did there, trying to advance on a dirt ball that got away from the catcher only about five feet.
7:34 Another strikeout for Michael Chavis, who's yet to demonstrate that he can hit a quality fastball. Why anyone would throw him anything off-speed and speed up his bat is beyond me.
7:28 Christian Vazquez strikes again -- second homer in as many nights, third of the season. It would now appear that last year was not a fluke with the bat.
7:24 Much better first inning for Martin Perez, who has a better cutter tonight and got a couple of routine groundouts in a quick first inning.
PRE-GAME NOTES
- Rafael Devers is out of the lineup. Ron Roenicke said he didn't want Devers playing 10 straight games and had planned to give him a day in the middle of this run of consecutive days.
- With Devers off, Jose Peraza shifted over from second and will play third. At second, Jonathan Arauz is getting his first start in the big leagues, playing third base. Arauz said he told Roenicke that he's comfortable at several infield positions. "I'm all for it if that's the way for me to help the team win,'' he said, while adding second base. Arauz said he's slowly adjusting to the big leagues at 21, having played only a week or so at Double A before this year. "You can just tell the difference in how different the level and how much more difficult it is playing up here. Obviously, the best players in the world are playing here. That's something at first, when I made the Opening Day roster, I felt a little strange because I hadn't played at such a level before. So I took the opportunity to be able to learn from the guys and try to learn everything I can pick up so I can to improve as a player.''
- Roenicke said Edaurdo Rodriguez met with doctors for a follow-up exam and MRI after being diagnosed with myocanditis, but had no updated information yet.
- Wednesday was the first night in which the three-batter rule had much of an impact on a Red Sox game this season, since the first five games were blowouts one way or another. But in a tight, back-and-forth game, the bullpen matchups were important. "No doubt it makes a difference,'' said Roenicke. "When you put in somebody, you know he's gotta go through; if they pinch-hit, there's nothing you can do. Maybe you put someone in with two outs and you're not so concerned because he's just got to get one out for the end of the inning. On the offensive end, it's a huge advantage. Once that guy comes in, you make your moves and you know that they can't counter it. It makes it simpler to manage in a lot of ways because you know they can't make that other change if you're on the offensive in. And then, it probably makes it a little more difficult if you're on the defensive end because once you make that decision, that's it. I kind of like it, I think games go on a little long. I know bullpen usage is becoming more important. But with the long games and the changes and using six guys every night...I think the interest with people is to see if we can move this thing along.''
- Roenicke hadn't checked with Brandon Workman, who threw 30 pitches Wednesday night and also pitched an inning on Tuesday, but wouldn't rule out his availability. If he's not available, Roenicke said he was comfortable with Matt Barnes in a save situation.
- WHAT's UP: The Red Sox used 12 position players and six pitchers in their win Wednesday night...The Sox lead the majors with a .278 average and doubles (18)...They also lead the American League in OPS (.780) and are fourth in the league in runs scored (32)....The Sox have been outscored 13-1 in the first two innings. In innings 3-9, they're outscoring opponents 31-23....Since the start of 2019, Christian Vazquez ranks in the top five among major league catchers in average (2nd-.280), doubles (2nd-27), RBI (tied 3rd-77), hits (3rd-139), and home runs (tied 5th- 25)...Andrew Benintendi became the 85th player to reach 500 hits with the Red Sox....Rafael Devers is tied for the major league lead in doubles with four....Martin Perez is 1-0 in three career appearances vs. the Mets with an ERA of 2.81...Wilson Ramos is 3-for-7 against Perez while Yoenis Cespedes is 5-for-15....Benintendi is just 2-for-19...Kevin Pillar has eight hits and five RBI in four games played....Michael Chavis is still looking for his first hit, going 0-for-9 and is 0-for-23 dating back to last season...