Jesse Winker hit his fifth career grand slam, Phil Maton escaped a tough spot in the eighth inning, and the New York Mets continued their strong performance with a 8-3 win over the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night. This victory marks their seventh win in a row, matching their season high.
“It feels good, but there’s a lot of games left, there’s a lot of good teams in the race,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said.
The Mets completed a three-game sweep of the Red Sox, who have now lost six of their last seven games. The Mets have won 14 of their last 19 games and are now just half a game behind Atlanta for the third NL wild-card spot.
“I feel like every game I’ve been here has had a playoff vibe to it because they’re so meaningful to us as a team,” said Winker, who joined the Mets from the Washington Nationals on July 28.
New York had only four hits after Winker’s first-inning homer against Tanner Houck (8-10), but relievers Alex Young, Huascar Brazobán, and Danny Young (3-0) got double plays to end the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings.
Harrison Bader prevented Rob Refsnyder’s two-out pinch-hit single from getting far in the eighth inning. Refsnyder advanced to third on Tyler O’Neill’s single, but Maton got Masataka Yoshida out with a line drive caught by Francisco Lindor.
“Obviously can’t say enough good things about the defense,” Maton said.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Mets scored four runs on just one hit. Kenley Jansen and Rich Hill walked three straight batters to load the bases, and then Bader’s sacrifice fly added another run.
“Right now it’s just about winning baseball games any way you can,” Winker said.
Lindor started the game with a single and added a double in the fifth inning. He extended his hitting streak to 15 games, matching his career high from 2018 with Cleveland. He has also reached base in 33 straight games, the longest active streak in the majors.
