SCORE: Red Sox 6, Mets 3.
RECORD: 3-2.
BREAKDOWN: Xander Bogaerts broke a 2-2 tie with a three-run homer in the fifth inning off Hansel Robles at Port St. Lucie. The Red Sox managed only five hits but made them count. Bryce Brentz also plated a run with a bases-loaded walk. Rick Porcello threw three innings and allowed no earned runs but gave up four hits. Kevin Couch threw two scoreless innings to earn the save.
THUMBS UP: Jemile Weeks was a fill-in for Sean Coyle at third after Coyle had a pregame mishap. Weeks stole two bases and knocked in a run and started a key double play on a hard-hit ball by Michael Cuddyer. He also started the rally that led to Bogaerts’s homer with a leadoff walk. First baseman Bryan LaHair made a nice diving stop of a hard-hit ball in the fourth inning to rob Johnny Monell of a hit.
THUMBS DOWN: Brock Holt made a throwing error after making a nice stop at second base on Wilmer Flores’s infield hit in the second inning. It led to the unearned run against Porcello. Robbie Ross Jr. had an eventful inning of relief, allowing three hits and a run.
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MEDICAL REPORT: Coyle took a ball to the mouth during batting practice and was scratched from the lineup. He had been scheduled to hit ninth and play third.
AROUND THE BASES: Luke Montz had a deceiving 0 for 4 as the DH. Montz is an interesting six-year free agent pickup. He’s a catcher by trade but hasn’t fully recovered from shoulder surgery. He has spent 12 seasons in the minors but has had cups of coffee with Washington and Oakland the last two years. He has great power, and hit the ball hard three times Sunday.
NEXT GAME: Monday at 1:05 p.m. vs. St. Louis in Jupiter, Fla. Wade Miley starts for the Red Sox. We’ll also see Matt Barnes, Junichi Tazawa, Alexi Ogando, Edward Mujica, Heath Hembree, and Felipe Paulino.
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