The New York Mets (40-54) go from a rematch of the 2015 World Series to a rematch of the 1986 World Series as they welcome the Boston Red Sox (43-48) to Citi Field for a three-game series. The Mets last faced Boston in May of 2025 at Fenway Park, with the Red Sox taking two of three. The last time these two teams squared off at Citi Field, the Mets swept Boston in September 2024.
The Mets’ offense came to play during the last series as they took two out of three from the Royals in front of the home
crowd. The offensive outburst just happened to coincide with Jorge Polanco’s return to the lineup, although he didn’t do much in his first big league action since April. That didn’t stop the Mets from pushing 25 runs across home plate in the three-game set.
Things began with a putridd loss, as New York jumped out to a 9-4 lead in the Tuesday series opener before eventually succumbing to a 16-12 loss. This stings even more when you consider that the Mets were gifted three runs in the bottom of the first thanks to a literal comedy of errors (three, to be exact) by the Royals. KC also had a runner picked off first and another thrown out at second on a steal attempt, both of which occurred in innings when the Royals scored (meaning they could’ve gotten even more runs). Alas, the pitching let New York down and eventually sunk them. But the Royals gaveth right back in the last two games, as New York utilized separate five run innings in the eighth inning on Wednesday and the fifth inning on Thursday to pick up victories. The offense was humming in both games, picking up hits with runners in scoring position, taking advantage of bad defense by the inept Royals, and hitting homers when needed. All of which helped New York claim a series win.
As mentioned, the bats scored 25 runs over the three-game set, but when you zoom out to Sunday, they’ve scored 42 runs in those five games. Over that span, they’re 4-1 and have looked much more like the team fans (and the front office) expected them to be at the start of the season. That came after they scored nine runs across their first three games this month (all losses). The offense overall has looked great since July 1, posting a 133 wRC+ (fourth in MLB) and an .833 OPS (fifth in MLB). They trail the Nationals, Marlins, and Pirates in both categories, and the Rockies in OPS since the start of July. Their 51 runs scored since July 1 is tied for fifth in MLB.
Polanco made his return on Tuesday and played two games, picking up two hits in eight at-bats (and narrowly missing his second homer as a Met). Incidentally, Mark Vientos was hit by a pitch on Thursday and suffered a broken bone, meaning he’ll be out for several weeks. While Polanco did not play first in either game, he is expected to return to the position at some point, though the club is likely to slowly ease him back in. For the meantime, Jared Young and Eric Wagaman will likely continue to split the majority of reps at first base as Polanco looks to get healthy enough to man the corner.
The Red Sox enter this series on a real heater, having won their last six games following back-to-back sweeps of the Angels and White Sox to begin their nine-game road trip. Dating back to June 23, they’ve won 12 out of 15 games. Boston, who have been one of baseball’s biggest disappointments following a postseason berth in 2025, have inserted themselves right back into the postseason picture. They currently sit 2.5 games back of the third Wild Card spot in the American League, a spot currently held by the Rangers, and with much of the AL sitting right around .500 and playing very uninspiring baseball, there are plenty of opportunities for the Red Sox to make a playoff push. Boston’s pitching has led the way for them during this recent stretch, limiting opponents to just ten runs over the six wins.
Willson Contreras has been far and away their best offensive player this year, leading the club in wRC+ (152), slash line (.285/.379/.542), home runs (20), runs scored (46), runs batted in (61), and fWAR (2.8) in 88 games played. He was recently added to the American League All-Star roster, joining teammates Ranger Suárez (who was just placed on the injured list and likely will not be able to join the squad) and Aroldis Chapman. He is also expected to participate in the Home Run Derby on Monday in Philadelphia as part of the festivities. However, Contreras has been suspended for five games (reduced from seven) for his part in a benches-clearing brawl against the Nationals on June 30, meaning he won’t suit up for Boston in an actual game until July 17, which is a big break for the Mets.
Aside from Contreras, Boston’s offense is fairly limp. They are missing both Roman Anthony and Triston Casas, who are stuck on the IL, and guys like Jarren Duran have not been contributing their fare share. The 2024 AL All-Star Duran enters play with a 67 wRC+ and a .198/.262/.360 slash line to go along with 13 home runs and a team-best 14 stolen bases in 84 games played.. Caleb Durbin, who finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting last year for Milwaukee, hasn’t had the best start in Boston, hitting .225/.288/.396 with nine home runs and an 86 wRC+ in 84 games.
Friday, July 10: Nolan McLean vs. Sonny Gray, 7:15 PM EDT on Apple TV
McLean (2026): 101.1 IP, 118 K, 37 BB, 10 HR, 3.73 ERA, 3.52 FIP, 91 ERA-
McLean won his second straight start and earned his third win in his last four tries as he’s coming off a solid effort in Atlanta. He ended up going six innings and allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits. He struck out five, walked one, and also hit a batter in the victory, while throwing 65 of his 96 pitches (68%) for strikes. Since May 31, he has a 2.70 ERA and a 3.34 FIP, with 43 strikeouts in 18 innings and opposing batters posting a .194 batting average and .596 OPS against him. His numbers would look even better minus his one true hiccup in that stretch, when he allowed six earned runs in six innings against the Cubs on June 24. Other than that, he’s allowed two earned runs or fewer in the other six outings.
Gray (2026): 89.2 IP, 82 K, 23 BB, 10 HR, 2.61 ERA, 3.61 FIP, 82 ERA-
Gray has easily been Boston’s best pitcher this year, and one of the best pitchers in the American League to boot. He has allowed three runs or fewer in 14 of his 16 starts this year and has generally gone deep into games, pitching into the sixth inning in each of his last seven starts and in 11 of his 16 games this year. His last time out, he limited the Angels to one earned run on four hits as he picked up his tenth victory of 2026. His most impressive outing came one start before that on Sunday Night Baseball, when he carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the Yankees before relinquishing a hit. He ended up going 7 1/3 and allowing just the one hit and one walk while striking out nine, though he didn’t get the win because the bullpen ended up choking away Boston’s lead. Since April 20, he owns a 2.08 ERA and a 3.29 FIP, with 71 strikeouts in 69 1/3 innings across 12 starts.
Saturday, July 11: Freddy Peralta vs. Brayan Bello, 4:10 PM EDT on SNY
Peralta (2026): 89.2 IP, 98 K, 39 BB, 14 HR, 4.68 ERA, 4.30 FIP, 114 ERA-
Peralta continued his up-and-down season with a mostly-uneven effort against the Braves his last time out. He allowed three runs over 4 2/3 innings, but only one run was earned. He also walked one batter, hit another, and struck out six while allowing six hits. The real issue is he needed 103 pitches to get through 4 2/3 innings and he could not complete a fifth inning of work. He has now failed to complete six innings in five straight starts, and he has only done six times in 19 tries this year. Despite that, the buzz around the league is that Peralta will continue to generate a lot of interest on the market, regardless of his results the rest of the way, and the Mets will almost definitely part with him before August 3.
Bello (2026): 61.0 IP, 44 K, 24 BB, 10 HR, 6.34 ERA, 5.03 FIP, 145 ERA-B
Bello was demoted to Triple-A back in early June after a really rough start against the Orioles in which he allowed eight earned runs on seven hits over five innings in a loss to the Orioles to drop to 2-6 on the year. The start did follow an outing in which he shut out Cleveland over seven innings, which is probably his best outing of the year. Since going down to Triple-A, the right-hander has a 4.34 ERA in four starts, but with a series of injuries in the team’s rotation, it looks like Bello will be getting a call back to the majors. Bello was really solid for Boston last year, winning 11 games and posting a 3.35 ERA and a 4.19 FIP in 166 2/3 innings.
Sunday, July 12: TBD (Likely Kodai Senga) vs. Jake Bennett, 1:40 PM EDT on WPIX
Senga (2026): 38.1 IP, 46 K, 27 BB, 12 HR, 8.92 ERA, 7.06 FIP, 217 ERA-
In the absence of any better options, the Mets will continue to trot Senga out there to take his beatings. In his defense (a little), the team’s usage of the right-hander is quite perplexing. Senga, who once required an extra day of rest in between starts, is now in the bullpen and was trotted out there on three day’s rest since his most recent effort, and the results shows. Coming in behind an opener in Tuesday’s loss to Kansas City, he allowed four earned runs on five hits over three innings. He struck out four, walked four, and surrendered a home run for the eighth consecutive appearance. He has now given up 12 home runs in just 38 1/3 innings. While the team has not officially announced Senga will be pitching on Sunday, the lack of an alternative (plus his slot in the schedule) seems to suggest that he will.
One note: Zach Thornton was removed after two innings from his Tuesday start at Triple-A, which puts him in play to make the start on Sunday for the Mets.
Bennett (2026): 47.2 IP, 35 K, 8 BB, 3 HR, 2.64 ERA, 3.03 FIP, 60 ERA-
Bennett has had a really solid rookie campaign for Boston since being promoted on May 1. The left-hander, who was drafted in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft by the Nationals before being traded to the Red Sox for a pitching prospect, has pitched at least five innings in each of his eight outings. His last time out, he hurled seven shutout innings against the White Sox, scattering four hit while striking out four. Prior to that, he had his longest outing in the majors, going 7 2/3 innings and allowing two earned runs on five hits in a win against the Angels. He has earned a victory in each of his last three major league outings and has allowed just three earned runs across his last four starts.
