The New York Mets had it all Friday night.
Noah Syndergaard was dominant on the mound, giving up three hits and striking out six in seven shutout innings, while the offense launched four home runs to beat the Boston Red Sox 8-0 at Fenway Park.
Spot-starter William Cuevas, filling in for Hector Velazquez who was a late scratch, gave up two earned runs while striking out four in two-plus innings, but the bullpen was unable to keep the game close, giving up six runs in the final seven innings.
Boston’s offense struggled mightily against Syndergaard and the Mets’ bullpen, piecing together just four hits in the game.
With the loss, the Red Sox slipped to 101-47, while the Mets improved to 69-78.
Here’s how it all went down:
GAME IN A WORD
Bullpen.
After Cuevas exited, the relievers surrendered runs to New York in the third, fourth and eighth innings.
ON THE BUMP
— Cuevas quickly got the first two outs of the first, but he gave up back-to-back doubles to Michael Conforto and Jay Bruce to plate a run and give the Mets an early 1-0 lead.
The spot-starter came back out for the second and had a stellar inning, striking out the side in order. He gave up a leadoff single to begin the third, spelling the end of his night.
— Robby Scott relieved Cuevas and got the inning’s first out before running into some trouble. He hit Conforto to put two on with one out and then surrendered a three-run home run to Bruce, extending New York’s lead to 4-0.
Jay #Bruuuce: Very strong. 💪 pic.twitter.com/JSrS17h9Xm
— New York Mets (@Mets) September 15, 2018
He’d give up a walk and hit another batter before loading the bases, causing manager Alex Cora to make another pitching change.
— Brian Johnson came in and got out of the jam by getting Austin Jackson to ground into a double play.
The southpaw returned for the fourth and seemed to be in a groove, getting the first two outs via a strikeout and groundout. But his good luck ended when Jeff McNeil sent a solo shot into the Red Sox’s bullpen to swell the Mets’ lead to 5-0.
Johnson finished his night by pitching a scoreless fifth, sixth and seventh frame, picking up three other strikeouts in the process.
— Tyler Thornburg pitched the eighth and led off the inning by issuing a walk in front of Jackson. The veteran outfielder took advantage this time around with a man on, sending a two-run blast into the Green Monster seats. It didn’t get much better after that as Amed Rosario sent a solo shot into the Monster to make it 8-0.
— Drew Pomeranz came in for Thornburg and surrendered a single before recording the final out of the eighth.
The left-hander pitched a 1-2-3 ninth with two strikeouts.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— Boston threatened to chip away at the Mets’ lead in the third after Ian Kinsler led off the inning with a single and Jackie Bradley Jr. walked. But Syndergaard buckled down, getting three consecutive outs to end the threat.
— Kinsler accounted for two of Boston’s four hits, while Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez each had one.
— All other Red Sox batters went hitless on the night.
TWEET OF THE GAME
A bright spot in the game.
UP NEXT
The two sides continue their three-game set with Game 2 at Fenway Park on Saturday. Rick Porcello is expected to get the ball for Boston and be opposed by Corey Oswalt. First pitch is set for 4:05 p.m. ET.
