Red Sox 3, Mets 1
NEW YORK -- Center fielder Mookie Betts homered and scored two runs Saturday afternoon and right-hander Joe Kelly threw 7 1/3 innings of one-run ball to win his sixth straight start as the Boston Red Sox beat the New York Mets 3-1 at Citi Field.
The Red Sox (60-69) have won the first two games of the three-game series to improve to 10-5 under interim manager Torey Lovullo.
The Mets (71-58), who had a seven-game winning streak snapped Friday, have lost five straight home games dating back to Aug. 14. New York's lead over the Washington Nationals in the National League East fell to six games, pending the Nationals’ game later Saturday against the Miami Marlins.
The Red Sox were limited to one hit by Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom through five innings before scoring twice in the sixth. Betts hit a leadoff single, took second on a wild pitch and scored on third baseman Pablo Sandoval's double.
Sandoval went to third on a fly out by shortstop Xander Bogaerts. After walking first baseman Travis Shaw, deGrom got Holt to ground to first. Sandoval took off for home but Daniel Murphy attempted to get the double play instead of throwing to the plate and Holt beat out the relay throw.
Betts provided an insurance run with a two-out homer in the seventh.
Kelly (8-6) allowed five hits and two walks while striking out two. He needed 30 pitches to complete the first inning but allowed only two runners as far as third base before third baseman Juan Uribe's one-out double in the seventh scored second baseman Kelly Johnson, who had singled.
Left-hander Tommy Layne got the final two outs of the eighth and right-hander Jean Machi earned his third save with a perfect ninth.
Uribe and right fielder Curtis Granderson had two hits apiece for the Mets.
DeGrom (12-7) allowed two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out 10 over six innings.
NOTES: Red Sox C Ryan Hanigan (tight right calf) was scratched about an hour before the first pitch and replaced in the lineup by C Blake Swihart. ... Red Sox LF Hanley Ramirez (right shoulder), who was a late scratch Friday, didn't start and was unavailable off the bench. Interim manager Torey Lovullo also said he wouldn't use RHP Junichi Tazawa, who tweaked his right hip and groin while turning a double play in the 10th inning Friday. ... Mets 3B David Wright received a scheduled day off. He has played in four of six games since being activated Monday from the disabled list after missing 115 games with a hamstring injury and spinal stenosis. ... Mets RHP Noah Syndergaard (23) and C Anthony Recker (32) celebrated birthdays Saturday.