The Boston Red Sox would be happy if they had a fully healthy starting rotation, especially with Chris Sale continuing to recover from his shoulder injury.
But they have been aided by their depth in the bullpen, which manager Alex Cora used to perfection, keeping them afloat in a commanding 6-1 victory over the New York Mets, handling their nine innings by committee.
Brennan Bernardino, Chris Murphy, Josh Winckowski, Joely Rodríguez, Joe Jacques, Chris Martin, and Brandon Walter combined for 27 outs.
Bernardino, the starter, had five outs in 1 2/3 innings, Murphy had 11 while seeing the majority of the action, having played 3 2/3 innings, Winckowski had two big ones with first and third base occupied, Rodríguez had three outs against his former team, Jacques had two, Martin had a 12-pitch strikeout of Daniel Vogelbach, and Walter held the Mets scoreless in the 9th inning.
This was the third time since the All-Star break that the Red Sox went with an opener. Essentially, they're all passing the baton to the next, and everyone did their job.
Murphy, who had his first career win of his MLB career in this game, backed that up. "It's more than just the pitching; our offense has stepped up in a huge way to help us in the bullpen and give us some support," he added.
He put his Triple-A struggles from this season behind him, as he has been pitching in a prominent role for the Red Sox on the night.
Boston's pitching set the stage for their offense, especially with four runs in the 3rd inning with seven straight hits, chasing Carlos Carrasco out of the mound. Connor Wong had three of Boston's 15 hits.
In the game, Carrasco was charged with five runs and 10 hits in 2 1/3 innings with a 5.82 ERA, and was in the middle of a mound meeting in the first inning.
Adam Duvall drove two runs, with an RBI base hit in the first and a run-scoring double in the third before rookie Triston Casas drove an RBI single that got Duvall home. While Boston didn't chase out Drew Smith, Yu Chang got an RBI single off the relief pitcher and Connor Wong scored on Smith's wild pitch.
Rafael Devers went on to blast his 24th home run of the season in the 7th inning as an insurance-marker to keep the Red Sox in the hunt for a wild card spot.
The only score the Mets got was an RBI single from Francisco Lindor off the Green Monster.
It's been a forgetful season for them, as they entered the year with the largest payroll in the MLB, aspiring for a World Series title. But they are now in a position where they could be a possible seller at the trade deadline.
Injuries
Mets: Right fielder Starling Marte, who has been dealing with migraines, is "doing well," per manager Buck Showalter. "He's back in New York. He's had three good days there. He's had a lot of challenges this year physically that he hasn't talked about." Showalter added that the extent of infielder Luis Guillorme's calf injury and how long he will be out for will be clarified after he undergoes imaging. He got hurt in Game 2 of this series.
Red Sox: Shortstop Trevor Story, who had offseason elbow surgery, had his third straight rehab game with Boston's Double-A affiliate, the Portland Sea Dogs. He played six innings, and was 1 for 2 batting with a walk. Manager Cora spoke about a defensive boost at the shortstop position which was, at times, rather shaky this season. As Story continues to improve on his rehab, he will be transferred to the Worcester Red Sox, Boston's Triple-A affiliate. Right-handed pitcher John Schreiber (strain) is close to his return after he appeared in five rehab games, while catcher Reese McGuire (oblique) heads to rehab with the WooSox.
Choppin' Apples
Left fielder Mark Canha became the first Mets outfielder with three assists in one game since Endy Chávez in 2006. He threw out Jarren Duran at the plate in the 1st inning after he backed up a wild throw, and chased down Casas trying to stretch a base hit off the lower part of the Green Monster in the 5th. He also had an assist when Devers overran third base in the 3rd.
Scoring
BOS, Bottom 1st: Adam Duvall singled to center, Justin Turner scored, Rafael Devers to third. 1-0 BOS
BOS, Bottom 3rd: Adam Duvall doubled to left, Justin Turner scored, Rafael Devers thrown out at home. 2-0 BOS
BOS, Bottom 3rd: Triston Casas singled to center, Adam Duvall scored. 3-0 BOS
BOS, Bottom 3rd: Yu Chang singled to left, Triston Casas scored, Enrique Hernández to second, Connor Wong to third. 4-0 BOS
BOS, Bottom 3rd: Connor Wong scored on Drew Smith wild pitch, Yu Chang to second, Enrique Hernández to third. 5-0 BOS
NYM, Top 6th: Francisco Lindor singled to left, Danny Mendick scored, Brandon Nimmo to third. 5-1 BOS
BOS, Bottom 7th: Rafael Devers homered to right center (413 feet). 6-1 BOS
Batting
NEW YORK METS
Brandon Nimmo: 4 at-bats, 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 RBI, 0 home runs, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, .263 batting average, .358 on-base percentage, .446 slugging percentage
Francisco Lindor: 4 at-bats, 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 RBI, 0 home runs, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, .226 batting average, .313 on-base percentage, .447 slugging percentage
Jeff McNeil: 4 at-bats, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 RBI, 0 home runs, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, .248 batting average, .322 on-base percentage, .321 slugging percentage
Pete Alonso: 3 at-bats, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 RBI, 0 home runs, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, .212 batting average, .310 on-base percentage, .484 slugging percentage
Mark Vientos: 3 at-bats, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 RBI, 0 home runs, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, .204 batting average, .241 on-base percentage, .259 slugging percentage
Daniel Vogelbach: 1 at-bat, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 RBI, 0 home runs, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, .224 batting average, .330 on-base percentage, .361 slugging percentage
Brett Baty: 4 at-bats, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 RBI, 0 home runs, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, .236 batting average, .298 on-base percentage, .360 slugging percentage
Mark Canha: 3 at-bats, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 RBI, 0 home runs, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, .238 batting average, .338 on-base percentage, .381 slugging percentage
Omar Narvárez: 2 at-bats, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 RBI, 0 home runs, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, .222 batting average, .315 on-base percentage, .289 slugging percentage
Tommy Pham: 1 at-bat, 0 run, 0 hits, 0 RBI, 0 home runs, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, .271 batting average, .355 on-base percentage, .472 slugging percentage
Danny Mendick: 2 at-bats, 1 run, 0 hits, 0 RBI, 0 home runs, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, .000 batting average, .100 on-base percentage, .000 slugging percentage
Francisco Álvarez: 1 at-bat, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 RBI, 0 home runs, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, .238 batting average, .298 on-base percentage, .511 slugging percentage
BOSTON RED SOX
Jarren Duran: 5 at-bats, 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 RBI, 0 home runs, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, .317 batting average, .367 on-base percentage, .514 slugging percentage
Masataka Yoshida: 5 at-bats, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 RBI, 0 home runs, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, .315 batting average, .376 on-base percentage, .494 slugging percentage
Justin Turner: 3 at-bats, 2 runs, 1 hit, 0 RBI, 0 home runs, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, .286 batting average, .355 on-base percentage, .480 slugging percentage
Rafael Devers: 3 at-bats, 1 run, 2 hits, 1 RBI, 1 home run, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, .265 batting average, .334 on-base percentage, .525 slugging percentage
Adam Duvall: 4 at-bats, 1 run, 2 hits, 2 RBI, 0 home runs, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, .257 batting average, .320 on-base percentage, .515 slugging percentage
Triston Casas: 4 at-bats, 1 run, 2 hits, 1 RBI, 0 home runs, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, .247 batting average, .351 on-base percentage, .465 slugging percentage
Connor Wong: 4 at-bats, 1 run, 3 hits, 0 RBI, 0 home runs, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, .249 batting average, .308 on-base percentage, .410 slugging percentage
Enrique Hernández: 4 at-bats, 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 RBI, 0 home runs, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, .222 batting average, .279 on-base percentage, .320 slugging percentage
Yu Chang: 3 at-bats, 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 RBI, 0 home runs, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, .171 batting average, .213 on-base percentage, .395 slugging percentage
Pitching
NEW YORK METS
Carlos Carrasco: 2.1 innings pitched, 10 hits, 5 earned runs, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts, 0 home runs, 58-36 PC-ST, 5.82 ERA
Drew Smith: 1.2 innings pitched, 1 hit, 0 earned runs, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts, 0 home runs, 26-19 PC-ST, 4.28 ERA
Trevor Gott: 1.0 innings pitched, 1 hit, 0 earned runs, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 0 home runs, 14-9 PC-ST, 4.93 ERA
David Peterson: 1.0 innings pitched, 1 hit, 0 earned runs, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 0 home runs, 14-12 PC-ST, 6.33 ERA
Dominic Leone: 1.0 innings pitched, 1 hit, 1 earned run, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 1 home run, 9-7 PC-ST, 4.66 ERA
Adam Ottavino: 1.0 innings pitched, 1 hit, 0 earned runs, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 0 home runs, 19-11 PC-ST, 3.57 ERA
BOSTON RED SOX
Brennan Bernardino: 1.2 innings pitched, 1 hit, 0 earned runs, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts, 0 home runs, 28-22 PC-ST, 2.36 ERA
Chris Murphy: 3.2 innings pitched, 3 hits, 1 earned run, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts, 0 home runs, 51-30 PC-ST, 1.80 ERA
Josh Winckowski: 0.2 innings pitched, 0 hits, 0 earned runs, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 0 home runs, 9-6 PC-ST, 2.93 ERA
Joely Rodríguez: 1.0 innings pitched, 1 hit, 0 earned runs, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 0 home runs, 18-11 PC-ST, 8.00 ERA
Joe Jacques: 0.2 innings pitched, 1 hit, 0 earned runs, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 0 home runs, 12-7 PC-ST, 5.17 ERA
Chris Martin: 0.1 innings pitched, 0 hits, 0 earned runs, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 0 home runs, 11-9 PC-ST, 1.45 ERA
Brandon Walter: 1.0 innings pitched, 0 hits, 0 earned runs, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 0 home runs, 16-10 PC-ST, 3.07 ERA
Miscellaneous
Venue: Fenway Park
Location: Boston, MA, USA
Attendance: 35,619 (Capacity: 37,755)
Game Time: 2 hours, 52 minutes
Umpires: Brian Walsh (Home Plate), Alfonso Marquez (First Base), Doug Eddings (Second Base), Ramon DeJesus (Third Base)
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