BOSTON — Norm!
That is basically how you describe a night for the Mets lately in which the team fails to deliver with runners in scoring position.
Cheers were few for the visiting team on Tuesday, through a confluence of bad luck on well-struck balls and noncompetitive at-bats.
Not even a third-inning ejection of the opposing starting pitcher helped.
All of it spelled a 2-0 loss to the Red Sox on a chilly night at Fenway Park.
The Mets, who fell from first place for the first time since April 9 a night earlier, lost a third straight game for the first time this season.
It was their fifth loss in six games over the past week.
The Mets went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position before disappearing completely over the final four innings.
Entering play the Mets were tied for 21st in MLB with a .691 OPS with runners in scoring position.
Clay Holmes kept the Mets in the game by allowing two earned runs on four hits and three walks with five strikeouts over six innings.
It was a fourth straight start for Holmes that lasted six innings.
The Red Sox faced a setback in the third inning when starting pitcher Walker Buehler was ejected after he expressed frustration toward plate umpire Mike Estabrook. This occurred after Buehler threw a pitch to Juan Soto that was in the strike zone, yet it was incorrectly ruled as a ball. Manager Alex Cora was also thrown out of the game.
Juan Soto ended up walking on four pitches, allowing the Mets to have runners at first and second. However, Pete Alonso was quickly retired, and then Brandon Nimmo hit a powerful drive to deep center at 103.1 mph, which was caught by Kristian Campbell for the third out.
In the fourth inning, Mark Vientos started strong with a double, but he was left at third base when Brett Baty’s hard-hit ball was deftly caught by first baseman Nick Sogard for the inning’s final out.
Sogard’s diving stop on Jeff McNeil’s grounder earlier in the inning also prevented the run from scoring.
Holmes dented in the fifth. Carlos Narváez homered leading off the inning for the game’s first run.
Two batters later, Rafael Devers also cleared the Green Monster, pushing the Mets into a 2-0 hole.
It was a second straight start with multiple homers allowed by Holmes, who has surrendered only five this season.
