One team endured a brutal 24-hour travel experience and arrived at the ballpark just two hours before the scheduled first pitch. The other slept in the comfort of their own beds the night before.
You’d probably think the latter squad would have the clear advantage…until I told you that team was the 2026 New York Mets.
Facing a Boston Red Sox team that suffered through multiple travel issues en route from Chicago, causing the start of the game to be delayed by 35 minutes, the Mets looked like the sleep-deprived squad. On the very first play, Juan Soto dropped an easy fly ball, enabling leadoff man Anthony Seigler to reach second base. A walk and a double later, the travel-weary Sox were already ahead 2-0 before the Mets’ first turn at-bat.
Those runs, both unearned, were all that Mets starter Nolan McLean gave up on the night. The righty was solid over six innings, allowing five hits and two walks while striking out seven, but was once again the victim of little run support.
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McLean didn’t get any help from the bullpen either. A.J. Minter surrendered a two-run homer to Seigler in the seventh to put Boston up 4-1, and Cionel Pérez gave up a two-run shot to Wilyer Abreu in the ninth to put the game well out of reach.
New York’s offense was mostly asleep at the plate, mustering just two runs on ten hits. They were virtually helpless against Boston starter Sonny Gray, fresh off an All Star snub, managing the one run against him on a Soto sac fly to score Brett Baty.
The Mets appeared to wake up in the eighth, down 4-1, when A.J. Ewing and Soto led off with singles. Ewing was left stranded on third, however, after Francisco Lindor, Carson Benge and Jorge Polanco all flied out. Baty added a solo homer in the ninth.
On the positive side, the Mets’ stud rookies continued to shine. Ewing, batting leadoff, had two more hits. And Benge, hitting cleanup, added a single and a stolen base while also throwing out Connor Wong at home plate.
Mets legend Mookie Wilson, appearing on the Apple TV broadcast, was dreaming of a better Mets future thanks to the youngsters : “I love these young kids. They have an energy… it reminds me, when we came up, that we were changing the culture a little bit.”
PLAYER OF THE GAME
McLean was the tough luck loser but earns the honors by making it through six innings for the fifth-straight start. He’s now 6-6 with a 3.52 ERA and 1.12 WHIP in 18 starts.
UP NEXT
The Mets and Red Sox resume their three-game series Saturday at 4:10 PM ET. Freddy Peralta (5–7, 4.68 ERA) takes the mound for New York, while Boston has yet to name a starter. SNY has the coverage of the game.
