David Peterson struck out a career-high 11 batters on his 29th birthday, and Francisco Lindor drove in three runs as the New York Mets defeated the struggling Boston Red Sox 7-2 on Tuesday night, marking their sixth consecutive win.
Lindor hit his 30th home run and added a crucial RBI double, earning more “MVP! MVP!” cheers from the fans at Citi Field.
“It’s special. He’s been doing a lot of it lately, and I think you saw it was kind of contagious at the end,” Peterson said. “Those runs at the end were huge for us.”
Pete Alonso and Mark Vientos also hit home runs for the Mets, who are still half a game behind Atlanta for the final NL wild card spot. New York (75-64) has won 13 of their last 18 games, and they have the best record in the majors since May 30, with 53 wins and 31 losses.
“For a while, we have had a sense of urgency,” Lindor said. “And it’s not just me, it’s everybody in here.”
Vientos hit a leadoff home run in the seventh inning off Justin Slaten, after Lindor’s two-run homer in the third was the only Mets hit off starter Kutter Crawford (8-13), who struck out eight batters in six innings.
After reliever Reed Garrett got out of a bases-loaded situation in the eighth inning, keeping the Mets’ one-run lead, Lindor hit an RBI double to extend the lead to 4-2.
“I love that,” Lindor said. “I want those moments.” Brandon Nimmo followed with a sacrifice fly, and Alonso hit a two-run homer, his 31st of the season.
Lindor, who also stole his 26th base, is hitting .362 with six home runs, seven doubles, 12 RBIs, and 14 runs during a 14-game hitting streak, which is one game short of his career high. He has reached base in 32 consecutive games, which is the longest active streak in the majors.
This is the fifth time Lindor has hit 30 home runs, and the only shortstop with more is Alex Rodríguez (seven).
Peterson (9-1) pitched six excellent innings, giving up just one run and lowering his ERA to 2.75 while winning his fourth straight game. All six hits he allowed were singles, many of which were from soft contact.
“We were able to execute with the fastballs up at the top of the zone,” Peterson said. “We were getting swings and misses, so we kept using it.”
At the start of the game, he threw a career-best 16 straight strikes as the first four innings went by quickly in 59 minutes. New York is 14-3 in Peterson’s starts since he came back from hip surgery on May 29.
“He executed. True professional,” Lindor said. “He has come a long way. I’m super happy for him.” Peterson became the first Mets starter to win on his birthday since Dillon Gee in April 2012.
“I’ll take that. That’s a good enough present for me,” Peterson said. “Call the family and say goodnight. Yeah, that’ll top it off.”
Nick Sogard had an RBI single, and pinch-hitter Enmanuel Valdéz added a bases-loaded sacrifice fly for the struggling Red Sox, who have lost four games in a row and five out of six. They’ve scored only five runs in those losses.
Boston (70-69) is 4 1/2 games behind Kansas City for the last American League playoff spot.
“The line is not moving. I mean, we put pressure on them tonight — but we’re much better than this. Much better. We’ve just got to keep working,” manager Alex Cora said. “We’re grinding with the players. This is a good offensive club that is going through a bad stretch right now.”
