Mendy bets on Baty, who drives Red Sox batty to end Mets' losing streak

Mets 5 Red Sox 1 (Fenway Park, Boston, MA)

Mets Record: 30-20

Mets Streak: W1

Mets Last 10: 5-5

WP: Huascar Brazobán (3-0)

LP: Liam Hendriks (0-1)

Seat On The Korner: Brett Baty

We select the star of the game and virtually invite him to a Seat on the Korner, just as Ralph Kiner used to do for his studio postgame show on WOR-channel 9 broadcasts in the early decades of the Mets.

Despite facing a tough left-hander in Red Sox starter Garrett Crochet, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza penciled lefty-swinging Brett Baty into the ninth spot in the batting order for his glove. But Baty came through at the plate, driving in the first three Mets runs with a pair of singles and helping the Amazin's snap their longest losing streak of the season at three games to earn the call to the Korner.

Facing Crochet with runners at second and third in the second inning, Baty smacked a single to center to drive in Mark Vientos. Luis Torrens, trying to score from second, was gunned down at home by Red Sox centerfielder Ceddanne Rafaela, but the Mets had their first lead of the series. It was Baty's first hit off a left-hander this season.

"Crochet a mountain of a man, with arms and legs flying at you and he throws 98," Baty said. "I was just trying to get my foot down early and put a good swing on it."

And with the scored tied a 1-1 when Baty came to bat in the seventh, facing another lefty — Brennan Bernardino — with the bases loaded and none out, he slammed a two-strike pitch deep down the left-field line and off the Green Monster to plate a pair of runs. It went for a single because Luisangel Acuna was tagging up at first and only got to second base.

"My scouting report (on Bernardino) was sinker-slider," Baty said, adding that on Tuesday night "he threw me a lot of sliders and I figured he was going to give me hard stuff tonight and I took advantage of it."

The way Baty's been performing lately and Juan Soto has been struggling, maybe Baty should ask Soto for his number back.

Need To Know:

• Mets manager Carlos Mendoza shook up the lineup, keeping Francisco Lindor in the leadoff slot but batting Starling Marte second while moving Juan Soto and Pete Alonso down a spot to third and fourth, respectively.

• When Alonso singled leading off the fourth inning, it pushed his home run drought to 55 at-bats — a career high. He was 0-for-3 after that, stretching the streak to 58 ABs.

• The Red Sox fourth inning was a weird one for Mets starter Tylor Megill. Nick Sogard nubbed one in front of the plate that went for a hit when Megill threw late to first. After a strikeout, Boston's Carlos Narvaez got the second infield hit of the inning on a grounder Francisco Lindor lunged to glove but flipped wildly to second, and Ceddanne Rafaela was clipped on the finger with a pitch that seemed to hit near the knob of the bat. After a fly to right field by Jarren Duran — that looked like a homer off the bat but got knocked down by the wind and went for a sacrifice fly — knotted the game, Megill issued his only walked and was yanked, ending a night that began so impressively.

• When Juan Soto struck out looking for the second time in two at-bats in the third, if was the first time in Soto's career he took six strikes without offering in two straight at-bats. For good measure, Soto struck out swinging in the sixth, the last batter Crochet faced.

  
  

• Once he K'd Soto, Crochet was pulled after 85 pitches, having yielded five hits, striking out five and walking one over 5.1 innings.

• After his 1-for-4 night, Boston's Carlos Narváez leads AL rookies during the month of May with a .386 AVG (14 games, 17-for-44, 8 R, 3 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 6 BB).

• Kristian Campbell's single in the Boston fourth snapped an 0-for-17 stretch for him.

• Four Mets pitchers combined to strike out 16 Red Sox — and set down Alex Bregman on strikes in four at-bats, the first time in his career he took a Golden Sombrero. Six of the nine Red Sox hitters had at least two strikeouts.

• Edwin Diaz pitched the ninth in a non-save situation, giving up a leadoff walk before getting a strikeout, flyout and ground out to seal the deal.

  
  
  
  

Turning Point:

The Red Sox seemed poised to take the lead in the fifth, but Mendoza reached into his bullpen for Huascar Brazobán and, as usual this season, wasn't disappointed. Replacing Megill with the bases loaded and two out, the tying run already in, Brazobán proceeded to strike out Alex Bregman on a 3-2 pitch to end the threat.

But the right-hander wasn't finished. He went on to pitch the sixth and seventh to match his season-high outing of 2.1 innings. Brazobán struck out four — including the side in the seventh — and walked none while giving up just one hit that was erased on a sixth-inning DP. He's now posting a 0.90 ERA in 30 innings pitched this season.

Three Keys:

Tylor-made start

Although he failed to get out of the fifth inning, Tylor Megill had an impressive bounce-back start. He mowed down the Red Sox over the first four innings, striking out nine — the first Met to fan that many hitters in that span since Jose Quintana did it in 2024.

Some bad luck followed on some soft contact in the fifth (see above), but Megill ended the night giving up four hits, walking just one and striking out a career-high-tying 10 over 4.2 innings, throwing 85 pitches.

Light tower power

When Francisco Lindor hits a home run, the Mets win. With the Mets looking to add to a 3-1 lead in the ninth, Lindor faced lefty Sean Newcomb with one out and lofted one high and deep to left. It hit off the light tower above the Green Monster for a solo home run, Lindor's team-leading 10th of the season. The Mets have now won the last 23 games in which Lindor has homered. It also snapped a Met drought of at-bats without a home run at 217, with their last homer coming against the Pirates on May 13. Lindor also had a double leading off the game.

Life with Luis

Luis Torrens has been money — not just with his defense behind the plate, but with consistent professional at-bats.

The backup backstop doubled off the Green Monster in the second inning, setting up second and third with none out and the Mets' first run. He ripped a single to center leading off the seventh and would later score. And, although nothing developed afterward, he worked a walk with one out in the eighth.

After his 2-for-3 night, Torrens is hitting .268 with a .787 OPS for the season and once again proved what a great pickup he was last season.

.