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Boston Red Sox’s Wilyer Abreu (52) celebrates with Ceddanne Rafaela (3) after they scored on a two-run home run by Abreu as New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez reacts of a baseball game Friday, July 10, 2026, in New York.<\/p>\n
Frank Franklin II\/AP Photo\/Frank Franklin II<\/p>\n
Boston Red Sox’s Masataka Yoshida follows through on a double during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets Friday, July 10, 2026, in New York.<\/p>\n
Frank Franklin II\/AP Photo\/Frank Franklin II<\/p>\n
Boston Red Sox’s Garrett Whitlock pitches during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets Friday, July 10, 2026, in New York.<\/p>\n
Frank Franklin II\/AP Photo\/Frank Franklin II<\/p>\n
Boston Red Sox’s Sonny Gray pitches during the second inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets Friday, July 10, 2026, in New York.<\/p>\n
Frank Franklin II\/AP Photo\/Frank Franklin II<\/p>\n
NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Interim manager Chad Tracy said the bedraggled Boston Red Sox will report to Citi Field a little later than normal before Saturday afternoon\u2019s game against the New York Mets \u2014 this time, without a series of flight delays.<\/p>\n
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Sonny Gray and the Red Sox shook off the travel woes that led to their late arrival to New York on Friday, beating the Mets 6-2 for their seventh straight win.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe\u2019ll definitely probably have a little bit of a later show,\u201d Tracy said, using baseball slang for the time to report ahead of Saturday\u2019s 4:10 p.m. EDT start. \u201cJust out of necessity to let people rest, we\u2019ll do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Red Sox were grounded for nearly 24 hours due to a pair of mechanical issues on their team plane and didn\u2019t arrive at Citi Field until 5:05 p.m. Friday. The start of the game was pushed back by 36 minutes to 7:51 p.m.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think anyone\u2019s probably experienced that before,\u201d Gray said after tossing six solid innings. \u201cIt was wild, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Red Sox expected to depart from Chicago on Thursday night, a few hours after they beat the White Sox 2-1. But pitcher Peyton Tolle said the \u201ctug\u201d \u2014 which tows the planes around the runway \u2014 was malfunctioning.<\/p>\n
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The Red Sox remained on the tarmac until after midnight, at which point they went to a pair of hotels in Chicago. The team returned to the aircraft Friday morning but was delayed again by Tracy described as issues with \u201cswitches or light bulbs in the cockpit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela, whose addition to the AL All-Star team was announced over the plane loudspeaker by Tracy before the second delay, said players listened to music and played cards.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s important to have a consistent routine that gets you and your body and everything prepared and ready,\u201d Gray said. \u201cBut at the same time, I think you have to be able to adjust and adapt when needed. And I think that\u2019s just what we did today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tolle said he ate about five doughnuts Friday, though most of his teammates had burritos.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe tried to make light of the situation, we tried to have fun with it,\u201d Tolle said. \u201cBut there was some frustration building, for sure.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt one point, we kind of just looked at each other laughing because it was just ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Red Sox finally took off a little before 3 p.m. EDT and landed at LaGuardia Airport around 4:30 p.m. Team employees said the roughly 2-mile drive to Citi Field was relatively easy during rush hour.<\/p>\n
\u201cThrow it back to travel ball days,\u201d reliever Garrett Whitlock said. \u201cShow and go. Go out there and play, have fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Masataka Yoshida\u2019s two-run double in the first gave Gray a lead before he took the mound. Gray allowed one run on five hits and struck out three while throwing 91 pitches.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were in that thing together from the time the game was over (Thursday) in Chicago,\u201d Gray said.<\/p>\n
The delay was the second in two weeks for the Red Sox. Their flight from Denver to Boston turned around after half an hour on June 24 due to a mechanical issue.<\/p>\n
The Red Sox didn\u2019t get home until around dawn on June 25 but beat the New York Yankees 6-3 hours later to start a 12-2 surge.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI think it\u2019s some adversity for us,\u201d Rafaela said before the game. \u201cThe message I sent to the guys was we have great momentum right now. That has to be our focus.\u201d<\/p>\n