Mets-Red Sox game suspended, set to resume on Saturday

July 22nd, 2023

BOSTON -- The Red Sox and Mets were in the middle of a back-and-forth tilt on Friday night at Fenway Park when Mother Nature interfered with downpouring rain, bolts of lightning and loud thunder that suspended the remainder of the contest until Saturday at 2:10 p.m ET. 

The regularly-scheduled 4:10 p.m. game for Saturday will start at 7:10.

Tickets for Friday’s game will be good for admission to the resumed contest at 2:10 p.m.  

Both games will be televised on NESN and broadcast in English on WEEI 93.7 FM and in Spanish on WAMG 890 AM/WCCM 1490 AM. 

Action was halted with one out in the bottom of the fourth inning and the Mets leading, 4-3. Boston’s Alex Verdugo was at the plate with a 1-2 count.

The suspension was announced after a rain delay of nearly two hours.

The game started under pleasant conditions. Boston struck first, getting a run in the first on a fielder’s choice grounder by Justin Turner. Yu Chang launched a two-run double in the second against Mets starter Kodai Senga to make it 3-0.

“Some people in the clubhouse said, ‘Welcome to the big leagues. That’s what the big leagues are about,’” Senga said of Chang’s double, which scraped the Green Monster. “Also, it wasn’t the best pitch. I missed my location. So it is what it is.”

The Mets used power to force a momentum shift. Brandon Nimmo belted a two-run homer to right off Kutter Crawford in the third. Daniel Vogelbach roped a two-run shot to right in the top of the fourth, putting the Mets in front at 4-3.

Not long after Vogelbach’s moonshot, the rain started and progressively intensified.

Thanks to the suspension, Senga’s outing was limited to 3 1/3 innings, in which he gave up three hits and three runs while walking one and striking out three.

“It was only the first part of the game, but I think we ended on a high note,” Senga said through an interpreter.

Crawford allowed four hits and four runs over four innings, walking none and striking out two.

Both teams will go to the bullpen when the action picks up on Saturday. The Mets have a potential long man available in lefty David Peterson, should they choose to go that route.

The Saturday night game features a solid pitching matchup of James Paxton for the Red Sox and Max Scherzer for the Mets. Because of the suspended game, both teams will have the benefit of a 27th man in the nightcap. The Mets will also have Tommy Pham, who spent Friday in New York receiving an MRI on his groin, available to appear in either game.