The New York Mets faced the Boston Red Sox this afternoon in the second game of a three-game set. Corey Oswalt made the spot start for the Mets, squaring off against Sox hurler, Rick Porcello.

It was a back-and-forth affair, with both teams putting up crooked numbers in the middle innings. Brandon Nimmo hit a three-run homer in the fourth, then some clutch hitting and a questionable call on the field gave Boston a 5-3 lead in the fifth.

Boston’s bullpen was excellent, allowing just two baserunners (two walks) in four innings of relief, and went on to win their 102nd game of the year by that score.

The Mets tallied just two hits and were set down in order six times, taking a step back after their offensive explosion on Friday.

Pitching

Oswalt hit the first batter he faced, Mookie Betts, with a pitch to start his day. After Andrew Benintendi reached on a throwing error, Oswalt recovered to strike out J.D. Martinez. Xander Bogaerts then singled to score Betts and stake the Red Sox to an early 1-0 lead.

Corey Oswalt worked around another error by Smith and a Betts single to escape the second unscathed, retiring Martinez on a fly out to end the frame.

Steve Pearce singled for the Sox with one out in the third, and after Oswalt got Ian Kinsler to pop out, he was promptly removed in favor of rookie Daniel Zamora. The young Stony Brook alum struck out Jackie Bradley Jr. to leave him stranded and close out the inning.

Zamora came back out for the fourth and struck out Rafael Devers and Sandy Leon, walked Betts, and punched out Benintendi to finish the frame. In Zamora’s six innings of work this season, the left-hander now has eleven strikeouts.

Paul Sewald replaced Zamora to start the fifth, and that’s when the confusion began. After setting down Martinez on strikes and retiring Bogaerts, Pearce and Kinsler singled, bringing up Bradley who skimmed a fly ball off of the top of the Green Monster in left for what was originally called a three-run homer.

After a lengthy review, it was determined that the ball did indeed skim off of the top of the wall, and, surprisingly, the umpires declared that both runners would score on the automatic double. In the case of a true ground-rule double, Kinsler would have been held up at third.

Sewald intentionally walked Devers and was replaced by Drew Smith. Pinch-hitter Brock Holt got a hold of a first-pitch fastball and sent it into center-field for a double, scoring Bradley and Devers and putting the Sox ahead 5-3.

Smith set down Boston in order in the bottom of the sixth, the second out coming on an outstanding, full-extension play from Jeff McNeil, who sprinted into right-field after beginning the play shaded close to the second base bag to snag a Martinez inside-outer.

Drew Gagnon pitched the seventh and allowed a leadoff hit to Pearce, his third of the game, but erased him on a 6-4-3 double play in the next at-bat. He got Bradley to pop out to end the inning.

Gagnon came back out for the eighth and allowed a leadoff single to Devers, but Todd Frazier made a great backhand grab on a missile from Christian Vasquez to start a 5-4-3 double play.

After a Betts bases-on-balls, the Mets’ fourth issued, Benitendi smoked a ball through the middle, bringing up Martinez with two men on and bringing Mickey Callaway out to call upon Jacob Rhame, who struck out the potential AL MVP on a 97 MPH high fastball.

Offense

The Mets were held hitless until McNeil led off the top of the fourth with a single to right field. After Todd Frazier drew a one-out walk, Brandon Nimmo, who had been hit by a Porcello pitch in the second, hit his seventeenth homer of the year to put the Mets ahead 3-1.

They went down in order in the fifth and after finding themselves in the hole 5-3, went down in succession again in the sixth.

Despite Frazier and Nimmo drawing walks to lead off the seventh, Smith (strikeout a foul tip while attempting to duck out of the way of a pitch), Kevin Plawecki, and Austin Jackson were retired by knuckleballer Steven Wright.

The Mets were set down 1-2-3 in the eighth, this time at the hands of Boston reliever Ryan Brasier.

Craig Kimbrel struck out Jay Bruce, induced a Frazier fly-out, and got Nimmo to groundout for his 41st save.

On Deck

NL Cy Young front-runner Jacob deGrom (8-9, 1.71 ERA) faces off against AL Cy Young hopeful Chris Sale (1, 2-4, 1.96 ERA) in a classic pitchers’ duel tomorrow, closing out this weekend series in Boston.

The 1:05 PM game can be seen on SNY and heard on 710 AM WOR.