MLB Game Preview - Boston at NY Mets

Thu Jul 30, 2020 7:07 PM EDT

A win over the New York Mets in a game started by Jacob deGrom could be the jumpstart the Boston Red Sox need to get out of their early-season funk.

The Mets hope another disappointing night by their late-inning relievers doesn't snowball into something more serious.

The Red Sox will look to win consecutive games for the first time this season and sweep the two-game series from the host Mets on Thursday night.

Martin Perez (0-1, 7.20 ERA) is scheduled to take the mound for the Red Sox against Steven Matz (0-0, 1.50 ERA) in a battle of left-handers.

Mitch Moreland's tiebreaking infield single keyed a three-run outburst in the top of the eighth Wednesday. In the ninth, Boston closer Brandon Workman got into and out of a bases-loaded jam to preserve the Red Sox's 6-5 win.

The Red Sox came back from a pair of one-run deficits against deGrom, the two-time defending National League Cy Young Award winner, and Seth Lugo, who entered Tuesday with a 2.45 ERA as a reliever since 2018.

In the fourth inning, Moreland delivered a game-tying RBI double before giving the Red Sox a 2-1 lead by scoring on a wild pitch by deGrom. In the seventh, Christian Vazquez tied the game at 3-3 with a solo homer off Lugo before Boston scored three times in the eighth off Justin Wilson.

The outburst against deGrom and the Mets was particularly encouraging for the Red Sox, who beat the Orioles 13-2 on Opening Day last Friday but scored just 13 runs while losing their next four games.

"Coming out on top of this one is a big one for us," said Red Sox starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi, who allowed two runs over five innings. "Hopefully it's going to get the ball rolling. You know, we had a lot of guys step up and do the things we needed them to do."

The Mets could be 5-1 instead of 3-3 if their bullpen had performed as expected on Tuesday and on Saturday, when closer Edwin Diaz gave up a two-out, two-strike, game-tying, ninth-inning home run to Marcell Ozuna in New York's eventual 5-3, 10-inning loss to the Atlanta Braves.

"With Lugo coming in in that inning (Wednesday) and then having Wilson, having Diaz, having (Dellin) Betances, having (Jeurys) Familia behind you, you're feeling pretty good about that," Mets manager Luis Rojas said. "Obviously, we didn't get to some of those names that we talked about."

Mets relievers have a 6.39 ERA this season and have allowed a run in every game since the opener, when deGrom, Lugo and Diaz combined on a three-hitter in a 1-0 win over the Braves.

"We know that they're going to come back ... ready to take on (Thursday's) game," Rojas said. "Something that you've got to do, especially in a season like this, is recover quickly, because the next thing you know, it's going to be, 'Play ball.'"

Perez allowed five runs (four earned) over five innings against the Orioles on Saturday. Matz gave up one run over six innings against the Braves on Saturday.

Perez is 1-0 with a 2.81 ERA in three games (two starts) against the Mets. Matz has never faced the Red Sox.

--Field Level Media