The Red Sox are in a funk.
Boston dropped its third straight game Monday night thanks to a three-home run night from the New York Mets at Fenway Park.
While the Red Sox smashed two bombs of their own, they weren’t enough as the Mets capitalized with runners in scoring position and came away with a 7-4 win. Zack Godley made his Red Sox debut, and while he was a bright spot with seven strikeouts, the game was out of reach when he toed the rubber.
Pitching struggled early for Boston, as New York amassed seven runs through the first four innings and racked up 11 hits on the night.
With the win, the Red Sox fall to 1-3, while the Mets climb to 2-2.
Here’s how it all went down:
GAME IN A WORD
Frustrating.
The pitching once again struggled, and the offense was just a little too late in coming alive.
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ON THE BUMP
— The first inning had the potential to get messy for Josh Osich.
Rafael Devers committed an error at third and the ball got away from him on a sharp hit by Jeff McNeil, but some quick hustle by Xander Bogaerts helped save the play. The shortstop laid out and got the tag on Ahmed Rosario. He initially was called safe and Bogaerts remained down and looked to be in a bit of pain.
Boston challenged the call and it was overturned as Bogaerts got up and smiled and went back to his position as Red Sox Nation breathed a collective sigh of relief.
McNeil was caught stealing and a strong throw from Mitch Moreland and some quick work from Bogaerts to get to second accounted for the third out without any damage.
Things didn’t go as smooth in the second for Osich, though.
J.D. Davis drew a walk to lead off the frame, which led to Michael Conforto to open up the scoring with a two-run blast to right field to make it 2-0 Mets.
.@mconforto8 hit that one wicked far. 💪 #LGM pic.twitter.com/ZV4ENeOlEQ
— New York Mets (@Mets) July 28, 2020
Osich got out of the inning without any further damage occurring.
— Jeffrey Springs got the third and it went about as well as Osich’s second inning.
Rosario singled before Pete Alonso set an absolute laser home run off the Green Monster that left Fenway Park in what seemed to be less than a second on a changeup that was delivered right down the heart of the plate.
.@Pete_Alonso20 ain't afraid of no monster. 💪 #LGM pic.twitter.com/yaeJXNFGjk
— New York Mets (@Mets) July 28, 2020
The lefty ended the inning with two strikeouts, but not before New York went up 4-0.
It only got worse for Springs in the fourth as Wilson Ramos doubled to begin the inning.
Robinson Cano walked to put two on with nobody out, and Dominic Smith blew the game open with a three-run home run to make it 7-0.
.@TheRealSmith2_ joins the party and extends our lead to 7️⃣. #LGM pic.twitter.com/TBKs1HsXTn
— New York Mets (@Mets) July 28, 2020
Springs got the following out, but his night was done after that.
— Heath Hembree got the final two outs of the inning, but the damage had been done.
— Godley came in for the fifth and struck out two while giving up a single.
The right-hander returned for the sixth and gave up back-to-back singles, but was able to get the next three batters, including a strikeout of Alonso with an 88 mph cutter.
Godley tossed a 1-2-3 seventh before picking up three strikeouts in the eighth after giving up a leadoff single.
— Phillips Valdez gave up a hit in a scoreless ninth.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— Boston finally got on the board in the fourth when Mitch Moreland hit his second round-tripper of the season to make it 7-1.
— The bats started to come alive in the fifth when Alex Verdugo reached first on a wild throw, followed by a Jackie Bradley Jr. single to put two on with nobody out. It also marked the first time in the game the Sox had more than one hit in an inning.
Unfortunately, they were unable to plate any runs thanks to two flyouts and a groundout.
— Bogaerts added another run for the Red Sox when he homered to center, his first of the season, to make it 7-2.
— Boston pushed two more runs across the plate in the eighth after J.D. Martinez walked and moved to third on a Devers double. Bogaerts grounded out to plate Martinez before Moreland singled to drive in Devers to cut the Mets’ lead to 7-4.
— Andrew Benintendi picked up his first hit of the season with a bunt in the first.
— Moreland led the Red Sox with two hits.
— Martinez and Christian Vazquez went hitless, while all other members of the team collected one hit.
TWEET OF THE GAME
Yikes.
The Red Sox have allowed 7+ runs in 3 of their first 4 games for the first time since 1901.
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) July 28, 2020
UP NEXT
The Red Sox welcome the Mets back to Fenway Park to wrap up their homestand Tuesday night. Matt Hall is expected to throw the first pitch at 7:30 p.m ET.
