NEW YORK -- The Red Sox are just one win away from a perfect road trip – one that is going to take them into the All-Star break with a big burst of momentum.
On Saturday, the surging Sox rolled past the Mets, 4-0, for their eighth straight victory and 13th in the last 15 games.
From being on the verge of falling out of contention a couple of weeks ago when they were 14 games under .500, the Sox (45-48) have roared back into the mix, trailing the Mariners and Twins by just a half-game for the third spot in the AL Wild Card standings.
After sweeping the Angels and White Sox in three-game sets, the Sox will try to do the same to the Mets on Sunday.
The last time the Sox swept a road trip of at least nine games was July 29-Aug. 7, 1977 – a West Coast trip that also started in Anaheim (three games), continued to Seattle (two games) and finished in Oakland (four games).
“It feels good, obviously,” said interim manager Chad Tracy. “[Earlier on], we were struggling -- struggling to score -- and didn't feel like things were going right. And now we're enjoying a stretch here. We're doing a lot of things right. We're throwing the ball great. We're getting clutch hits, we're scoring runs early. We're stretching pitch counts on starters. We're doing a fantastic job. So we just got to keep playing good baseball.”
Here is what mattered most on Saturday.
Monasterio's latest NY homer
Andruw Monasterio apparently enjoys playing in the Big Apple – be it the Bronx or Queens. After belting a solo homer on June 5 to help the Red Sox defeat the Yankees, 4-1, Monasterio broke a scoreless tie with a two-run shot in the top of the fourth inning against Mets righty Freddy Peralta.
It was Monasterio’s fifth homer of the season, and the timing was especially good on this one. With Willson Contreras serving the third game of his five-game suspension, Monasterio got the start at first base.
‘Yeah, I think that's my role in my entire career,” said Monasterio. “So if something happened in the infield or the outfield I have to be available. When I got traded [here in February, chief baseball officer] Craig [Breslow] told me that, [former manager Alex Cora] told me that. So I'm ready for that.”
Rivera's strong encore
Once again, lefty Eduardo Rivera, Boston’s No. 25 prospect per MLB Pipeline, came up big for the Red Sox after being promoted from Triple-A Worcester on a day his team was short-handed.
Rivera, starting in place of ailing All-Star Ranger Suarez (on the 15-day injured list with a left groin strain), limited the Mets to one hit and no runs over 3 2/3 scoreless innings in which he walked two, struck out three and threw 64 pitches in his first Major League start.
It was a long but worthwhile day for Rivera, who took an Uber from Worcester at 7 a.m.
“I haven't started a game for the past two months, but as a big leaguer, you're always ready,” Rivera said. “And yesterday, they gave me the opportunity, they called to tell me to start today, and I was ready for it and thanks to God, I was able to do it.”
Getting 11 outs from Rivera was big for the Red Sox on what was essentially a bullpen game. In his Major League debut at Fenway against the Yankees on April 22, Rivera fired 3 1/3 scoreless innings in a 4-1 loss.
Masa opens it up
Either due to injuries or a lack of production, Masataka Yoshida has often had a hard time living up to the five-year, $90 million contract he signed in December of 2022. But the left-handed hitter has had two big hits already in this series.
After hitting a two-run double that briefly rolled under a tarp on Friday, Yoshida gave his Sox some breathing room with a two-run shot down the line in right in the top of the eighth inning. It was Yoshida’s third homer of the season.
“He’s another guy during the course of the road trip, we’ve had a lane now to get him in there against more righties, and he's swung the bat very, very well for us,” said Tracy. “The home run there was huge to stretch it to four and put it in a more comfortable spot.”