The Boston Red Sox left Citi Field on Friday night uncertain who their starting pitcher would be on Saturday.
That may be just a small hurdle to overcome for a team that’s already figured out how to win a game immediately after a nightmarish travel experience.
The surging Red Sox will look to clinch another series win Saturday afternoon when they visit the New York Mets in the middle game of a three-game interleague set.
Right-hander Freddy Peralta (5-7, 4.68 ERA) is slated to start for the Mets.
Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said a starting pitcher might be recalled from Triple-A Worcester on Saturday to take the rotation spot usually occupied by All-Star Ranger Suarez, who went on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a strained groin.
The Red Sox showed few effects of their laborious trek to Citi Field on Friday, when Masataka Yoshida’s two-run double in the first gave the visitors a lead they’d never relinquish in a 6-2 victory.
Sonny Gray gave up one run over six innings for the Red Sox, who capped an eventful two-day period by recording their seventh straight victory.
Boston’s flight out of Chicago following a three-game sweep of the White Sox was delayed almost 24 hours due to multiple mechanical issues on the club’s charter plane. The Red Sox didn’t land at LaGuardia Airport in New York until after 4 p.m. and didn’t make it to Citi Field until about an hour later.
The first pitch was pushed back from 7:15 to 7:51 EST to accommodate the Red Sox.
“Obviously long day-and-a-half,” Tracy said. “And they brought everything they had, which was great.”
Friday’s win improved the Red Sox to a major-league-leading 12-2 since June 25, one day after they matched a season low by falling 14 games under .500. Boston now is 1 1/2 games behind the Seattle Mariners in the race for the final American League wild-card berth.
The Red Sox were six games out of the last playoff spot through June 24, when they had the worst record in the AL.
“Crazy 24 hours,” said Red Sox second baseman Anthony Seigler, who opened Friday’s game by reaching on a two-base error by Mets left fielder Juan Soto and scored the first run before adding a two-run homer in the seventh. “But we knew we had to come in and keep the same energy that we had on this stretch.”
Brett Baty had three hits, including a homer, and scored both runs for the Mets, who went quiet offensively following one of their most prolific four-game stretches of the season. New York scored 42 runs while going 4-1 in the previous five contests.
The Mets finished 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position Friday, when they were held to two runs or less for the 35th time this season. Only the Los Angeles Angels (39) have scored two runs or less more often.
The Mets, who have the third-worst record in the National League at 40-55, had runners at the corners with none out in the eighth in a 4-1 game but didn’t score.
“I thought we put ourselves in a lot of scoring positions throughout the day,” Mets interim manager Andy Green said. “Weren’t able to cash in anything,”
Peralta didn’t factor into the decision in his most recent start Monday, when he gave up three runs (one earned) over 4 2/3 innings in the Mets’ 7-6, 10-inning win over the Atlanta Braves.
He is 0-1 with a 5.91 ERA in two career starts against the Red Sox.
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