BOSTON – Brett Baty rounded first base and pumped his fist in jubilation as the large contingent of Mets fans at Fenway Park cheered.
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Try it freeAfter a week of frustration offensively, this was a baby step for manager Carlos Mendoza’s crew.
The Mets had runners in scoring position late and Baty delivered Wednesday night.
It was that two-run, bases-loaded single by Baty in the seventh inning that put the Mets ahead to the finish in a 5-1 victory over the Red Sox that snapped a three-game losing streak.
Baty drove in three runs overall, helping the Mets to avoid their first sweep of the season.
The third baseman started against ace left-hander Garrett Crochet largely for defensive purposes but ended up carrying a reconfigured lineup.
Most notably, Juan Soto and Pete Alonso were pushed back to third and fourth in the order, respectively, with Starling Marte – at least for this night – inserted in the No. 2 hole. Mendoza indicated he would consider keeping Soto and Alonso in those lineup spots for a stretch of games.
Francisco Lindor ended the Mets’ homerless drought at six games with a shot over the Green Monster in the ninth inning.
The Mets were a respectable 3-for-12 with runners in scoring position. Entering the day, they were 5-for-44 (.114) in such situations over their previous six games.
The Mets had scored three runs or fewer in each of their previous seven games.
It was a road trip on which the Mets went 2-4, including a series loss to the Yankees last weekend. The schedule remains challenging, with the defending World Series champion Dodgers at Citi Field for three games beginning Friday.
Tylor Megill matched a career high with 10 strikeouts in limiting the Red Sox to one earned run on four hits and one walk over 4 2/3 innings. Megill was removed at 85 pitches, with the bases loaded in the fifth.
Soto struck out in all three of his plate appearances against Crochet.
After taking six strikes on seven pitches in his first two at-bats, Soto swung and missed twice in striking out against Crochet a third time. Crochet was removed after his third strikeout of Soto.