Red Sox bats get to Kodai Senga early; bullpen comes up big in key win over Mets
BOSTON — As the New York Mets arrived at Fenway Park tied for the second-most wins in the majors with their best starter in Kodai Senga on the mound, it appeared to be a tall task for a scuffling Boston Red Sox club.
Instead, the Red Sox showed the tantalizing potential they possess when firing on all cylinders as they held down the Mets 3-1, tagging Senga for the most runs he's allowed in a start this season.
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'I feel like we've had a lot of intense games this year,' said Jarren Duran, who continues to heat up at the plate, posting a 2-for-4 night. 'It was just good for us to be able to compete and win a game like this, especially against a really good team like the Mets who are rolling right now.'
Even though the Mets' defeat marked the first time they lost three games in a row this season, they're about as good a team the Red Sox have played this year, and Senga, with a 1.02 ERA entering Monday, is no exception.
The right-hander had not allowed more than two earned runs in each of his eight starts entering Monday, but the Red Sox lineup was unfazed by the task.
'I thought we had a pretty good approach against him today, and to be able to execute it early is always a good thing,' Duran said. 'Jump on him early, put a little pressure on.'
Senga looked disjointed early as Duran led off the game with a double and Rafael Devers walked before an Alex Bregman groundout scored Duran and a Trevor Story single plated Devers.
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The next inning, Carlos Narvaez walked and scored on a Duran triple to right, making it 3-0.
The Red Sox offense wasn't able to muster more, but Boston didn't need to as Hunter Dobbins and a quartet of relievers kept a dangerous Mets lineup in check.
The rookie Dobbins navigated the New York lineup without his best stuff but benefited from strong defense. In the first, Pete Alonso hit a ball off the wall in left, cut down by the whipping wind with two outs. Duran fielded it deftly off the wall, firing to second to get Alonso out trying to advance.
'I didn't execute, and he made a good swing,' Dobbins said. 'Love the Monster for that one. Duran made a great play, and I settled in after that.'
Dobbins allowed a leadoff double and an RBI single in the third with one out before walking leadoff hitter Francisco Lindor. But the Red Sox infield turned a clutch double play on a Juan Soto grounder to help Dobbins.
After a 10-pitch fourth, Dobbins allowed back-to-back singles in the fifth and recorded two outs before an aggressive turn to the bullpen.
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Manager Alex Cora missed Monday's game for his daughter's graduation from Boston College, and bench coach Ramon Vazquez was at the helm.
With Lindor due up with two on, Vazquez turned to lefty Justin Wilson despite Dobbins having thrown just 66 pitches.
Dobbins previously had run into trouble the third time through the order. Though he'd posted a 1.20 ERA through the first three innings of his starts this season, he'd been roughed up for a 6.40 ERA in innings four through six.
Wilson battled Lindor through a 10-pitch at-bat before finally getting the leadoff hitter swinging to strike out. In 19 outings, the lefty has a 2.35 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 15 1/3 innings.
'He was fouling everything off, luckily he got the swing-and-miss pitch at the end,' Wilson said. 'Fairly competitive at-bat on both ends. Threw a lot of sliders and got him to swing over the last one.'
After allowing a leadoff single and a walk in the sixth, Wilson got Boston's second major double play of the night before Vazquez once again turned to the bullpen with two outs. Greg Weissert entered and dispatched Mark Vientos with a flyout.
Weissert then got two outs in the seventh before issuing a walk and allowing a single. With Lindor again coming to the plate, for the third time on the night, Vazquez turned to the bullpen with two outs. This time, it was Justin Slaten, who needed one pitch to get Lindor to ground out to escape the jam.
Slaten sent down the Mets quickly in the eighth, and Aroldis Chapman worked around a single in the ninth, getting the team's third double play to end it and seal his seventh save.
That's a dub. pic.twitter.com/HuiT3ERNVa
— Red Sox (@RedSox) May 20, 2025
'It was a lot of steps — more than I wanted. But you know what, hell of a job by the guys,' Vazquez said of his bullpen management. 'It was a whole team effort. … A few good double plays. Just a good ballgame all around. Scoring early, I think it was huge, very important for the team and for Hunter going out there. So, a well-played game. Well-played game all around.'
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The win marked Vazquez's first as a manager, albeit a temporary manager, but the team celebrated him nonetheless with a postgame beer shower.
'Ramon and (Cora), they're really close,' Duran said. 'So it just felt like the same thing. And we just fought for both of them hard.
'It's always fun to have a little moment like that, especially, since we're kind of fighting, we're grinding right now,' Duran added of the celebration for Vazquez. 'So to be able to have something like that get a mind off everything is pretty awesome.'
(Photo of Jarren Duran: Winslow Townson / Getty Images)
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