A few hours prior to first pitch on Monday, Ramón Vázquez outlined two goals for his night in charge of the Red Sox.
Elevated from bench coach to acting manager with manager Alex Cora attending his daughter’s college graduation festivities, Vázquez wanted to avoid both ejection and on-field visibility.
“All my responsibilities are still the same. The only difference is … if I have to walk out there to take the pitchers out,” said Vázquez. “Hopefully that doesn’t happen tonight and the game goes smooth — no extra cardio for me. I don’t really want it.”
The game didn’t cooperate, but Vázquez and the Red Sox bullpen aptly navigated the final 13 outs to claim a 3-1 victory over the Mets on a night of howling winds and dueling fanbases at Fenway Park.
In the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings, Vázquez made two-out pitching changes with a two-run lead and the tying run either on base or at the plate. Each time, a Sox reliever responded. Justin Wilson, Greg Weissert, and Justin Slaten each stranded runners before Aroldis Chapman sealed the win with a scoreless ninth.
“It was a lot of steps — more than I wanted,” said Vázquez. “But you know what? Hell of a job by the guys.”
The Sox claimed an early lead and never relinquished it.
Jarren Duran continued his resurgence by leading off the first inning with a double against Mets starter Kodai Senga. After a Rafael Devers walk and a wild pitch, Duran scored on an RBI groundout. Devers followed him home on Trevor Story’s two-out, RBI single.
The Sox tacked on another run in the second on a two-out RBI triple by Duran — the leadoff hitter’s MLB-leading sixth three-bagger of the year. Duran is 10 for 26 with five extra-base hits in his last six games.
“That’s Jarren for us,” said Vázquez. “When he starts games like that, we win a lot.”
Jarren Duran continues to cause chaos on the base paths 🦎 pic.twitter.com/rvjinvF68c
— NESN (@NESN) May 20, 2025
The 3-0 advantage represented an impressive achievement given that Senga (4-3) hadn’t allowed more than two earned runs in his prior 16 starts, dating to Aug. 19, 2023. Still, the Sox could do no more against the Mets righthander.
And so New York, backed by a sizable contingent of its fans (“A lot of blue out there,” smirked Duran), tried to claw back against Sox starter Hunter Dobbins.
The Mets pushed across their lone run in the third, but they threatened to erase the home team’s lead in the fifth when back-to-back, one-out singles by Francisco Alvarez and Jeff McNeil — their Nos. 7 and 8 hitters — put runners on the corners. But Dobbins, with the benefit of an expansive strike zone by home plate ump Brian O’Nora, rang up Tyrone Taylor on a full-count sweeper for the second out.
Vázquez tempted fate no further. Entering Monday, Dobbins had pitched well early in contests but struggled deeper in games, with opponents posting a .354/.400/.564 line after his 50th pitch. And so, Vázquez removed Dobbins after 4⅔ innings and 18 batters — a decision that also made switch-hitter Francisco Lindor (.222/.250/.311 against lefties) hit righthanded.
With the count at 2-2, Wilson threw six straight sliders to Lindor. One for a ball, four that were fouled off, and the 10th pitch of the at-bat — on the plate, but below the zone. Lindor swung over it to end the threat.
“Fairly competitive at-bat on both ends,” said Wilson (2-0), who has struck out Lindor in seven of 14 matchups. “He was fouling everything off. Luckily, got the swing-and-miss pitch at the end.”
One inning later, the bullpen quelled another two-on, no-out rally when Alex Bregman and Story combined for a 5-6-3 double play — the 12th double play turned by the Red Sox on a grounder to third this year, tied for most in MLB. Weissert followed Wilson and got an inning-ending fly out to strand Juan Soto at third.
Weissert returned for the seventh and struck out two, but then issued a two-out walk and single to again put the tying run on base. And again, Vázquez pushed the right button, summoning Slaten for Lindor. Slaten needed just one pitch to get a groundout.
Alex Bregman in a position to cash in again after the season
Slaten returned for a scoreless eighth, setting the stage for Chapman in the ninth. The closer struck out Mark Vientos on a 102 m.p.h. sinker and, after a single, induced a game-ending double play. Four Sox relievers combined for 4⅓ scoreless innings, limiting the Mets to three hits while striking out five.
“We picked each other up,” said Wilson. “That’s our goal every time.”
Safe to say Justin Slaten is locked in after this K 🔒 pic.twitter.com/pUvsTdfVSD
— NESN (@NESN) May 20, 2025
After the win, Vázquez received a congratulatory hug from his son, then got doused in the clubhouse in recognition of his first managerial victory.
“It was a cold beer shower in there. I’m still freezing,” Vázquez said. “This is a special place. The fact that I was able to manage my first game in the big leagues with this organization and at this ballpark, it makes it even more special.”
He then paused, and took off his cap.
“I’ve officially retired as a manager,” he pronounced.
Cora will reclaim on-field cardio responsibilities on Tuesday.
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