One day after the New York Mets and their offense were held to 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position against Sonny Gray, the Mets continued their struggles with runners on base in Saturday’s 4-0 loss to the Boston Red Sox.

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Saturday was the ninth time this season they’ve been shut out. New York’s offense was held to just three hits, all singles, against Boston’s bullpen game. While opportunities didn’t come often, when they did, the Mets didn’t do anything with them and couldn’t get a big hit. Freddy Peralta struggled again and did not go past the fifth inning. The Mets are now 40-56 with just one more game to go before the All-Star break.

Another O-for with Runners in Scoring Position

Boston threw a bullpen game against the Mets, starting with Eduardo Rivera. Rivera was impressive with three strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings pitched. He held the Mets hitless until the fourth inning when Jorge Polanco singled off of him. In the second inning, Carson Benge started it with a walk and stole second base to put him in scoring position with nobody out. Polanco struck out swinging, Eric Wagaman popped out, and Francisco Alvarez struck out swinging.

Their next best chance came in the bottom of the seventh inning, down 2-0. The Red Sox put in Justin Slaten after Jovani Moran allowed a one-out walk to Wagaman. Alvarez singled to the opposite field to put runners on first and second. Brett Baty struck out looking on a Slaten sweeper on the corner to make it two outs. Bo Bichette, who didn’t start again due to soreness in his knee, went up as a pinch hitter and walked to load the bases. A.J. Ewing, just like with Baty, went down looking on a sweeper as the Mets left the bases loaded.

The Mets had another chance, this time down 4-0, in the bottom of the eighth inning as Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor both walked to start the inning. However, Carson Benge was just a little ahead of a first-pitch cutter from Danny Coulombe and just missed a three-run home run. A Polanco double-play followed it, and that was it for the Mets offense for the day. As a whole, the offense went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and are 0-for-16 in this series.

Freddy Peralta and Tobias Myers Struggle Again

The big offseason trade the Mets made for Freddy Peralta and Tobias Myers was supposed to help the rotation (Peralta) and bullpen (Tobias Myers). Still, on Saturday, the ineffectiveness and disappointment of both reared its ugly head. Peralta only went four innings and struck out six batters. However, he walked five, struggled with control, and could not find the strike zone. He allowed a two-run home run to Andruw Monasterio in the top of the fourth to put Boston up 2-0. He had more long innings and too many 3-2 counts to work with for a quality outing. Peralta walked two and allowed a double in the fifth to load the bases. Andy Green brought in Huascar Brazoban for a physically upset Peralta after he threw 92 pitches.

The Mets turned to Myers in the top of the eighth inning, still down 2-0, after they squandered their bases-loaded chance. Myers got roughed up again right out of the gate. He allowed a single to Caleb Durbin and then Masataka Yoshida roped a home run down the right field line at 104.2 mph to put the Red Sox up 4-0. Myers has now allowed an earned run in eight straight games. It’s worth noting that through the first month of the season, Myers’ ERA was 2.05. Then, on May 6th in Colorado against the Rockies, he allowed four runs on five hits, and he has not been the same since, posting an ERA of 10.23 in that stretch before Saturday’s appearance. His season ERA is now 6.26.

On Deck:

The Mets will look to avoid a sweep before the All-Star Break on Sunday. Zach Thornton will start for the Mets. The Mets offense, who are 0-for-16 with runners in scoring position in this series, will face Red Sox left-hander Payton Tolle. The game will start at 1:40 pm EDT and be telecast locally on WPIX and broadcast on WHSQ 880 AM.