The Mets (7-8) fell by a score of 9-4 to the Boston Red Sox (8-12) on Sunday afternoon at Tradition Field.
Noah Syndergaard pitched well for the Mets, allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits in five innings, striking out five and walking none.
The Mets nearly fell behind in the second inning, but Thor got some help from his defense when Neil Walker threw out David Murphy at the plate. The Mets drew three walks against Red Sox pitcher Heath Hembree in the bottom of the frame, but did not capitalize. The Mets again failed to cash in on an opportunity in the next inning when Neil Walker grounded out to waste a single from Yoenis Cespedes and a walk from Lucas Duda.
Boston got on the board in the top of the fourth thanks to a double from Xander Bogaerts and a single from Travis Shaw, who hit a sinking liner to left field which Lagares was unable to bring in and then misplayed, allowing the Boston shortstop to race home and make it 1-0.
The Mets answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning, in strange fashion. After Wilmer Flores lined out to begin the frame, Travis d’Arnaud singled and Juan Lagares walked to put two runners aboard. Carlos Marmol came in to face Matt Reynolds and promptly threw a wild pitch to move both runners up a base. Reynolds eventually walked, and Ball Four got away from the catcher as well, allowing d’Arnaud to score and Lagares to move to third. The Mets then pulled off a delayed double streal, with Reynolds going to second and Lagares bolting for home after the throw, scoring to put the Mets up 2-1. Curtis Granderson struck out for the second out, but David Wright singled on a hard-hit ball which took an odd bounce off the glove of Dustin Pedroia and allowed Reynolds to hustle home from second on an infield hit.
Boston got a run back in the top of the fifth on two singles and a Brock Holt sacrifice fly. Jerry Blevins came in to relieve Thor in the top of the sixth, and struggled mightily, giving up a single (to a righty) and a walk (to a lefty) before former Met Chris Young (a righty) went deep to put Boston up 5-3. Blevins then retired lefty David Murphy before being replaced by Buddy Carlyle, who pitched 1.2 strong innings.
Antonio Bastardo was next for the Mets and struggled as well, allowing two runs (one earned) in one inning on the mound. The Mets got a run in the bottom of the eighth on a double from Matt Reynolds (who scored on a TJ Rivera groundout), but Hansel Robles struggled in the ninth as Boston put the game away with a walk and two doubles to plate a pair of runs before the hard-throwing righty struck out the next three batters. The Mets mustered only a Ty Kelly double in the bottom of the ninth, and fell 9-4.
Syndergaard looked good on the hill today, which matters a lot more than the score. That being said, I’d like to see this team win a few more games. Spring Training games don’t count in the standings, but it’s nice for a team to get in the habit of winning before they head north to begin the regular season. The Mets had a terrific spring last year, and that gave way to a hot start when they broke camp.
Blevins and Bastardo have not been good this spring. It’s pretty clear that Blevins should only face lefties.
Reynolds looked good today. He’s certainly a lot faster than Ruben Tejada, which is important given that neither player has a lot of power.
The Mets will be back in action at home against the Marlins on Monday afternoon, when Jacob deGrom faces Jarred Cosart at 1:10 PM.
