Hunter Dobbins, bullpen help Red Sox defeat Mets

Boston Globe

20-05-2025

The game didn't cooperate, but Vázquez and the Red Sox bullpen aptly navigated the final 13 outs of the contest to claim a 3-1 victory over the Mets on a wind-swept night at Fenway Park.
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In the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings, Vázquez made pitching changes with a two-run lead, two outs, and the Mets threatening with the tying runner either on base or at the plate. Each time, a Sox reliever responded, with Justin Wilson, Greg Weissert, and Justin Slaten each stranding runners before Aroldis Chapman closed out the contest with a scoreless ninth.
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That late-innings excellence allowed the Sox to get a win in a contest when their offense scraped together three runs in the first two innings and then could add no more.
Jarren Duran continued his resurgence by leading off the first inning with a double to right against Mets starter Kodai Senga. After Rafael Devers walked and a wild pitch put runners on second and third, the Red Sox claimed the game's first run on an Alex Bregman RBI groundout. A two-out, two-strike single to left by Trevor Story made it 2-0.
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The Sox then tacked on another run in the second inning when Carlos Narváez walked and scored on a two-out triple by Duran — the leadoff hitter's MLB-leading sixth three-bagger of the year. The 3-0 advantage represented an impressive achievement, marking the first time that Senga had allowed three or more earned runs in a start since Aug.19, 2023, ending a 16-start run that is the longest in Mets history.
The Sox could do no more against Senga, who overcame his early difficulties to limit the Sox to the three runs on five hits and three walks while striking out five in six innings.
The Mets clawed back for a run against Sox starter Hunter Dobbins in the third inning to make it 3-1, and threatened to erase the home team's lead in the fifth when back-to-back, one-out singles by the Nos. 7 and 8 hitters in New York's lineup put runners on the corners.
Dobbins had been struggling to miss bats all night, striking out just one hitter and getting only two swings and misses to that point. But on a full-count sweeper to Tyrone Taylor, Dobbins benefited from an expansive interpretation of the strike zone by home plate ump Brian O'Nora. A pitch that appeared a ball's width below the zone was ruled a third strike.
Vázquez tempted fate no further. Entering Monday, Dobbins had pitched well early in contests but struggled as he worked deeper into games, with opposing hitters posting a .354/.400/.564 line after his 50th pitch.
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Mindful of that pattern, Vázquez removed Dobbins after 4⅔ innings and 18 batters — a decision that had the added benefit of making switch-hitter Francisco Lindor (.227/.255/.318 against lefties entering Monday) hit righthanded. Wilson rewarded the move by striking out Lindor on a nasty slider in the dirt.
One inning later, the Sox bullpen quelled another two-on, no-out rally when Alex Bregman and Trevor Story combined to turn an unusual 5-6-3 double play — the 12th double play turned by the Red Sox on a grounder to third this year, tied for most in the big leagues — and righthander Weissert replaced Wilson and elicited an inning-ending fly out from Mark Vientos.
Weissert then punched out the first two batters of the seventh before faltering, allowing a two-out walk and single to again put the tying run on base with two outs. And again, Vázquez pushed the right button when he summoned Slaten to face Lindor. Slaten needed just one pitch – a 94 m.p.h. cutter — to get the Mets star to tap weakly to second base to end the inning.
Slaten returned for a scoreless eighth, setting the stage for Chapman to record a final zero with a strikeout of Vientos on a 102 m.p.h. sinker and, after a single, a game-ending double play from Francisco Alvarez. Thus concluded a quartet of Sox relievers who recorded 4⅓ scoreless innings, limiting the Mets to three hits while striking out five.
Alex Speier can be reached at