The Red Sox completed a sweep of their mini-series with the New York Mets and extended their winning streak to seven straight with a 12-5 thumping.
Kyle Schwarber bashed two homers and drove in four runs and Alex Verdugo and Jose Iglesias added two RBI each. Chris Sale improved to 5-0 with five innings, during which he fanned eight.
The victory marked the seventh in a row in which the Red Sox scored a minimum of six runs.
WHO: Red Sox (87-65) vs. New York Mets (73-78)
WHEN: 7: 10 p.m.
WHERE: Fenway Park
SEASON SERIES TO DATE: BOS 3-0
SERIES TO DATE: BOS 1-0
STARTING PITCHERS: LHP Chris Sale (4-0, 2.40) vs. Taijuan Walker (7-10, 4.27)
TV/RADIO: NESN; WEEI-FM 93.7
LINEUPS
METS
Nimmo CF
Alonso 1B
Lindor SS
Baez 2B
Davis DH
Villar 3B
McNeil LF
Pillar RF
McCann C
RED SOX
Hernandez CF
Schwarber 1B
Bogaerts SS
Devers 3B
Martinez DH
Verdugo LF
Renfroe RF
Vazquez C
Iglesias 2B
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:
T6: Short outing for Barnes -- walk, single, flyout, walk. Leaves the bases loaded for Ryan Brasier.
T6: Matt Barnes is on for the sixth, and he's not been sharp -- a walk and a single so far.
T5: Sale has a big cushion and this game was long ago decided but he hasn't been sharp. He's put the leadoff man on in each of the last four innings.
B3: Iglesias triples over the head of Kevin Pillar, then trots home when the relay from Javy Baez skips past third.
B3: Mets go to the bullpen for the third, but it doesn't matter much. Sox belt two doubles off Trevor Williams -- one from J.D. Martinez, the next from Alex Verdugo -- and add to their lead.
B2: Magical double play started by Jose Iglesias at second, who makes a diving stab, then a backhand flip to Xander Bogaerts,
B2: For the second time in as many at-bats, Schwarber hammers Walker -- this time to RF, over the visitor's bullpen, with two out. This is Schwarber's second multi-homer game against the Mets this season; the other came while with the Nationals.
B2: Kike Hernandez ropes a double down the left field line, scoring Hunter Renfroe (double). Of the 10 batters to face Walker so far, seven have reached base.
T2: A 97 mph fastball from Sale catches too much of the plate and Jeff McNeil laces it to left for a run-scoring double.
B1: Lots of hard contact early on against Taijuan Walker. A walk and two straight singles produce another run, and Sox have runners at the corners with just one out.
B1: Kyle Schwarber tattoos a pitch into the CF bleachers -- just crushed it -- and the Sox are quickly up 1-0.
T1: Chris Sale pumps it up with a 96 mph fastball to get Pete Alonso swinging. The fastball seemingly has a little more life tonight compared to last time when he was coming off a 10-day COVID absence.
WHAT'S UP: The Red Sox have won their last 6 games and are 12-6 in September...Since 8/20, they are 18-11 in games and 6-2-1 in series. The Sox’ current winning streak is their longest since winning 8 consecutive games from 6/25-7/2. The Sox own MLB’s 5th-best record in September (.667), trailing only TOR (16-4, .800) for best in the AL. At 87-65 (.572), the Sox own the 6th-best record in the majors, trailing only TB (93-59, .612) and HOU (90-61, .596) for best in the AL. The Sox are 1 game shy of matching their season high of 23 games above .500 (2x, previous: 63-40 on 7/28-G2..)...The Red Sox’ .623 win percentage at home ranks 3rd in the AL and 5th in the majors...They started the season 10-11 at home but are since 38-18 (.679). In home games, the Sox lead the majors in runs per game (5.83), AVG (.280), and OPS (.832). In their last 21 home games, the Sox have scored 161 runs (7.7 per game) and hit 37 HR.....The Red Sox have 45 come-from-behind wins, tied with the Rays (45) for most in the majors. ....The Red Sox are 12-2 in the last 14 games started by either Nathan Eovaldi or Chris Sale. In 6 starts since returning from Tommy John surgery, Sale is 4-0 with a 2.40 ERA (30.0 IP, 8 ER, 6 BB, 31 SO).. In his last 8 starts, Eovaldi has a 2.27 ERA (12 ER/47.2 IP) with 64 SO, 8 BB, and a 1.03 WHIP. Eovaldi leads AL pitchers in fWAR (5.5), ranking T-3rd among all pitchers (Burnes-7.2, Wheeler-6.5, Scherzer-5.5). Eovaldi leads the majors in BB/9.0 IP (1.66)...He is tied for the AL lead in starts (30) and ranks among league leaders in ERA (6th, 3.58), SO (6th, 188), IP (4th, 173.2), and WHIP (6th, 1.17)...The Red Sox have a 2.46 ERA (27 ER/98.2 IP) in their last 11 games...In their last 10 games, Red Sox relievers have allowed just 6 ER in 44.1 IP (1.22 ERA). Hansel Robles has not allowed a run in his last 9 outings, a season-best streak (8.1 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 14 SO). Since moving to the bullpen, Garrett Richards has a 1.23 ERA (3 ER/22.0 IP) in 14 appearances. ....The Red Sox have played 152 games, tied for most in the majors (5 others)...They have 10 games remaining in the regular season (6 road, 4 home); their best 10-game stretch of the season is 9-1 (5 times). The Sox are playing 8 games in 12 days from 9/16-27. 3 of the Sox’ remaining games are vs. teams with a winning record (NYY) and 7 are vs. teams with a losing record (BAL-3, WSH-3, NYM-1). ...The Red Sox have used 56 players this season, tied for their most in franchise history (also 2012). The Sox have used 33 pitchers, their most in franchise history...That does not include 4 position players who have pitched (Araúz, Arroyo, Gonzalez, Plawecki). ....The Red Sox have won each of their 3 games against the Mets this season, including a 2-game sweep at Citi Field on 4/27-28. 21 of the last 28 meetings between the clubs have been decided by 1 or 2 runs...The visiting team has won 11 of the last 16 meetings between the clubs. This is the 11th season in which the Sox and Mets are meeting in Interleague play (also 1997-2001, 2006, 2009, 2015, 2018, and 2020). ..The Red Sox own the majors’ best Interleague record this season (12-4, .750)...They are 275-184 (.599) all time against the NL, the highest Interleague winning percentage in MLB. ...The Red Sox have scored 6+ runs in each of their last 6 games, matching their longest streak of the season (also 4/5-11)...They last had a longer streak in April 2018 (7 games, 4/7-14). The Sox lead the majors in doubles (318) and XBH (542) and rank 4th in runs per game (5.1), 3rd in AVG (.261), 2nd in SLG (.449), and 3rd in OPS (.778). ....The Red Sox rank 9th in MLB with 203 HR...They have homered in 25 of their last 27 games; in that time (beginning 8/23), they rank 4th in MLB with 46 HR. The Sox lead MLB with 37 HR with at least 2 runners on base (34 three-run, 3 grand slams). The Sox have hit 4+ HR in a game 13 times, 2ndmost in franchise history (15 times in 1977). From the No. 9 spot in the batting order, the Sox lead MLB in XBH (51) and HR (tied, 18)...Only once have they hit 19+ HR from the No. 9 spot (24 in 2003). ...In their last 39 games (beginning 8/8), the Sox lead the majors in AVG and OPS with runners in scoring position (.311/.924)...In their 113 games prior, they ranked 17th in AVG and 18th in OPS with RISP (.252/.744). The Sox are slugging an MLB-best .439 against relief pitchers...They have hit 88 HR against relievers, tied for most in the AL. .....The Sox lead the majors in 2-strike RBI this season (316), 45 more than any other team. With 2 strikes, the Sox also lead MLB in XBH (195)...They lead the MLB in HR hit in counts of 0-2 (18) and 1-2 (27). The Sox lead MLB in runs scored with 2 outs (320)... With RISP & 2 outs, they lead the majors in OPS (.839). ...The Red Sox entered today with MLB’s largest increase in win % from 2020 (.400) to 2021 (.572). Boston’s .426 win % in 2012 (69-93) is the club’s lowest ever prior to a postseason campaign....Bobby Dalbec has 12 HR and 36 RBI in 34 games...In that time, he leads the majors (min. 100 PA) in SLG (.802), OPS (1.228), and wRC+ (219) while batting .340 with a .426 OBP. Dalbec leads AL rookies in SLG (.500), ranks 2nd in OPS (.808) and ranks 3rd in HR (23) and RBI (76)...In 147 career ML games, he has hit 31 HR with 92 RBI and an .834 OPS. ....Red Sox outfielders lead MLB with 41 assists, their most in a season since 1987 (47)...Only 2 others teams have as many as 30 (TEX-32, MIA-30). Hunter Renfroe leads MLB with 16 OF assists, while Kiké Hernández ranks tied for 9th in the AL with 7.
NOTES
* Bobby Dalbec sat Wednesday night, with Kyle Schwarber at first. Every day now, Alex Cora has to squeeze somebody out of the lineup, whether it be Dalbec, Schwarber or Alex Verdugo, "There are certain matchups that we like,'' said Cora. "We believe this is a good one for Kyle. It's a good problem to have. It gives up options late in games. We've got a deeper bench, regardless of who's starting. We can be aggressive as far as pinch-hitting. It's not easy to stay away from (Dalbec) but it's a pretty good lineup that we're throwing out there tonight.''
* A number of players off COVID-IL have returned to Boston, including Danny Santana, Yairo Munoz and Jonathan Arauz. "We'll talk about (whether they're going to be added to the roster),'' Cora said. "We'll see where we go and make decisions.'' Pitcher Phillips Valdez also rejoined the Sox. "I'm glad that everybody's here, everybody's healthy and hopefully we can turn the page,'' said Cora.
* Adam Ottavino hasn't appeared in a game in a week, but Cora said he's not facing any physical issues and could benefit from the time off. "He's ready to go,'' said Cora.
* Jose iglesias remains the second baseman although Christian Arroyo is back and active.
* The Red Sox honored a number of their minor leaguers before the start of the game. Nick Yorke was the Offensive Player of the Year; INF-OF Ceddane Rafaela was the Defensive Player of the Year; Brayan Bello was Starting Pitcher of the Year; Durbin Feltman was the Relief Pitcher of the Year.