J.D. Martinez, Red Sox Fall to Mets as Pete Alonso, Michael Conforto Homer

The Boston Red Sox dropped their third game in a row, falling to the New York Mets 7-4 on Monday at Fenway Park.

After back-to-back shaky starts from Martin Perez and Ryan Weber, Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke turned to left-handed reliever Josh Osich as the opener. On the other side, Michael Wacha made his Mets debut after spending his first seven seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Relying upon the services of an opener didn't change much for the Red Sox, for whom pitching has emerged as the biggest problem.

Osich allowed a two-run home run to Michael Conforto in the second inning.

Jeffrey Springs went 1.1 innings and allowed five earned runs after surrendering a pair of homers to Pete Alonso and Dominic Smith.

Those three long balls accounted for all of the Mets' run production.

Notable Stats

Michael Wacha, SP, NYM: 5.0 innings, five hits, one earned run, one walk, four strikeouts

Pete Alonso, 1B, NYM: 1-for-5, one run scored, one home run, two RBI

Dominic Smith, DH, NYM: 1-for-4, one run scored, one home run, three RBI

Mitch Moreland, 1B, BOS: 2-for-4, one run scored, one home run, two RBI

Xander Bogaerts, SS, BOS: 1-for-4, one run scored, one home run, two RBI

Wacha Makes Solid 1st Impression

Mets fans are right to lament the lack of spending by the Wilpon family considering the franchise plays in one of the world's largest media markets. And ownership didn't exactly break the bank to supplement an 86-win roster from a year ago.

Wacha showed Monday why he could prove to be a bargain at one year and $3 million, though.

The 29-year-old right-hander had his changeup working to constantly keep Boston's lineup flailing at the plate.

His fastball velocity, which had fallen to 93.37 mph in 2019, per Brooks Baseball, was up as well.

Marcus Stroman is out with a calf tear, while Rick Porcello allowed six earned runs in two innings of work on Sunday against the Atlanta Braves. General manager Brodie Van Wagenen's December proclamation that the Mets possessed "probably the deepest starting pitching rotation in baseball" hasn't yet held true.

Wacha at least did his part to justify Van Wagenen's confidence.

Red Sox Sluggers Fail to Deliver

The Red Sox's pitching issues were foreseeable entering the season. They traded away David Price, while Chris Sale underwent Tommy John surgery in March. Having Eduardo Rodriguez would certainly help but wouldn't single-handedly save the rotation.

As a result, the offense will likely have to shoulder a heavy burden in order for Boston to have a shot at the postseason, even with the expanded 16-team format.

The Red Sox's first four hitters (Andrew Benintendi, J.D. Martinez, Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts) went a combined 3-for-15 on Monday. Based on what we've seen so far, that simply won't cut it.

Jackie Bradley Jr. and Jose Peraza got on base to open the third inning. Benintendi struck out and then Martinez grounded into a double play to end the frame. It was the same story in the fifth, when Benintendi was up with runners on first and second and one out. He grounded out and Martinez lined out to right field as Wacha kept Boston off the board.

The offense finally got going in the eighth inning, by which point the Sox had to climb out of a five-run deficit.

Seth Lugo got the final four outs to register the save.

What's Next?

The Red Sox and Mets will meet again on Tuesday at 7:10 p.m. ET. Matt Hall is set to take the mound for Boston, while New York has yet to name its starting pitcher.