Mets sweep Red Sox behind stellar bullpen, defense for seventh straight win

The Mets rotation has emerged during the second half as a real strength. Their offense has at times carried the team and been one of the better attacks in the majors.

Less heralded has been the bullpen, a unit that has continually evolved, occasionally irritated, sometimes frustrated and on Wednesday looked precisely good enough.

A seventh straight victory depended upon five quality innings from the Mets bullpen, which delivered five scoreless frames in an 8-3, exhale of a victory over the Red Sox in front of 26,270 to clinch a series sweep.

The Mets (76-64) just keep winning, getting star turns from every area of the team, and are not shaking loose from the third-wild-card Braves.

Jesse Winker eked out a grand slam in the first inning, which proved to be all the scoring the Mets would need and all they would get until the eighth inning, when they scored four more.

Bases loaded walks from Tyrone Taylor (against Kenley Jansen), Jeff McNeil (against Rich Hill) and Francisco Alvarez (Hill), along with a sacrifice fly from Harrison Bader, provided the late insurance.

After Tylor Megill (four innings, three runs all scored in the third inning) was pulled, a procession of five Mets relievers managed to hold down Boston batters, helping the Mets tie their season-long win streak.

Alex Young, Huascar Brazoban, Danny Young, Phil Maton and Edwin Diaz were not especially dominant, but they were clutch.

The bullpen consistently induced the ground ball it needed, at one point escaping three straight jams with inning-ending double plays.

Young replaced Megill in the fifth and inherited a runner on first base. Jarren Duran’s single put two on, but Young induced a ground ball double play from Rafael Devers to escape.

In the sixth, it was Brazoban who got into two-on trouble.

But the righty watched as Triston Casas grounded right back up the middle to Francisco Lindor, who stepped on the bag and fired to first to end the frame.

An inning later, Connor Wong singled against Brazoban, who was pulled with one out. Young entered and used a full-count sinker to get Romy Gonzalez to bounce into the third double play.

Young got two outs in the eighth — including a strikeout that made Devers look silly — before Maton dug and climbed out his own hole.

A pair of singles put runners on the corners with two outs, the tying run 90 feet away. But Maton watched Yoshida line out to Lindor, allowing both a loud cheer and a loud sigh of relief.

Diaz recorded the final three outs to stave off a solid, if wild, Red Sox club (70-70).

The Mets defense helped, turning those double plays and Alvarez picking off a runner at first base.

Their offense did all the damage it would require within the first five batters.

Lindor (single), Brandon Nimmo (walk) and Mark Vientos (single) loaded the bases in the first. After a Pete Alonso strikeout, Winker drilled a grand slam that just cleared the wall and hit off the railing in left center.

Winker, who has stepped up in the absence of J.D. Martinez (on the paternity list), has hit .306 with three home runs and 13 RBIs since the deadline deal and continues to do exactly what the Mets ask: Crush righty pitching.