The New York Mets were so close to a well-rounded and impressive win heading into the All-Star break, but, as with everything else with the 2026 squad, it wasn’t meant to be.
The Mets blew a fantastic performance by starting pitcher Zach Thornton on Sunday afternoon in a 3-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox, who extended their win streak to nine games and completed the sweep. New York fell to 17 games under .500, their worst mark at the break in 31 years.
Thornton pitched seven scoreless innings and struck
out five batters in his third MLB start. Meanwhile, Francisco Lindor accounted for both of the Mets’ runs with a home run and an RBI double, but committed a brutal ninth-inning error that gave Boston life.
Luke Weaver relieved Thornton in the eighth inning and extended his scoreless streak to 26 innings, but things went south when Devin Williams took the mound in the ninth. Williams came in for what could have been his 100th career save, but struggled with control, giving up two walks and two hits. The Lindor error came on a double-play ball that should have ended the game. Instead, Jarren Duran, who was on a 0-15 streak, eventually poked a bloop single to score two runners and tie the game 2-2.
A sacrifice fly by Anthony Seigler scored Masataka Yoshida in the 10th inning, giving Boston a 3-2 lead. The Mets were unable to advance ghost runner Tyrone Taylor in the bottom of the frame, putting a bow on one of the most brutal losses of the season.
If there was a silver lining in such a disappointing game, it was definitely Thornton. He was effective and efficient throughout the day, especially in the first four innings, where he didn’t allow a hit on just 39 pitches. Those 39 pitches were the fewest a Mets starter has needed to get through the first four innings all season. Given the injuries and struggles the rotation has endured, that’s not entirely surprising. He even flashed the glove in the fourth on a line-drive comebacker off the bat of Wilyer Abreu, which Thornton nonchalantly snagged.
Andruw Monasterio doubled off Thornton with one out in the fifth inning for Boston’s first hit of the game. The left-hander recovered by striking out Duran and getting a groundout from Nate Eaton. Connor Wong led off the sixth inning with a single off Thornton, but he got back to mowing down Red Sox batters, retiring the next three.
The Mets brought Thornton out for the seventh inning, where he quickly retired Romy Gonzalez and Caleb Durbin before walking Monasterio. Before drawing the walk, Monasterio popped up to first baseman Eric Wagaman in foul territory, who dropped what should have been the final out of Thornton’s day. The 24-year-old pitcher looked like a veteran after the drop, giving Wagaman a few claps and some encouraging words before getting a groundout from Duran.
AJ Ewing led the game off with a double off Red Sox starter Payton Tolle. Advancing to third on a wild pitch, Ewing came home after Lindor’s double. The Mets were 0-17 with RISP in the series before Lindor’s RBI.
Other than the pair of doubles Tolle gave up early, he mostly kept the Mets hitters off balance. He racked up seven strikeouts over 3.2 innings, drawing consistently awkward swings from the New York lineup. Tolle gave up a two-out double to Taylor before getting pulled for Brayan Bello, who struck out Torrens to end the inning.
Lindor walloped an opposite-field homer off Bello in the sixth inning during what looked like one of his best games since returning from the IL. But his error in the ninth inning was a gut punch with Williams struggling to get outs. Then again, the Mets would have lost in nine innings instead of 10 without him, as the rest of the Mets’ lineup didn’t do much. Starters Juan Soto, Carson Benge, Brett Baty, and Zack Short went a combined 0-15 with six strikeouts.
Soto will represent the Mets in Tuesday’s All-Star Game, and the whole team will be back in action Thursday against the Phillies.
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Box scores
Win Probability Added
Big Mets winner: Zach Thornton, +43% WPA
Big Mets loser: Devin Williams, -30% WPA
Mets pitchers: +13% WPA
Mets hitters: -63% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Francisco Lindor’s home run, +11.5% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Jarren Duran’s single, +26.4% WPA
