NEW YORK -- In a battle of bullpens, Red Sox relievers weren't quite as bad the relievers for the New York Mets.
But it was close.
In six innings Friday night at Citi Field, the Boston bullpen combined for eight walks in five innings, including two with the bases loaded.
But in their own way, the Mets were worse, allowing three homers and six runs in four innings.
Neither were much to brag about. But the Sox were slightly less horrible, enough to give the Sox a 6-4 win in 10 innings.
First came Alexi Ogando, who came in for the bottom of the seventh after the Red Sox had rallied with three runs in the top of the inning - a solo homer by David Ortiz and a two-run homer by Jackie Bradley Jr.
Ogando then proceeded to walk three of the next five hitters he faced, forcing in the tying run with the final one.
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It was a pattern that would repeat itself in the 10th. The Sox again scored three runs in the top of the inning. And once again, a Red Sox reliever couldn't throw strikes.
This time, it was Junichi Tazawa, who got the first two outs, then walked four in a row -- allowing the Mets to close to within two and loading the bases.
Tazawa felt some stiffness in his lower back when he fielded a comebacker to start a 1-6-3 double play, though said later that the back -- which concerned the Sox enough to bring a trainer to the mound -- wasn't a factor in his subsequent wildness.
"I thought I felt some discomfort in my back when I went for the ball,'' said Tazawa, "but I felt OK enough to pitch. I don't think (the back led to the walks). I sort of just lost my release point after that.''
Coming into the game, Tazawa had issued just nine walks in 54 innings of work. In 55 previous outings, he had walked more than one hitter only once all season.
And yet, there he was, walking four straight Mets, with the game hanging in the balance.
"That's certainly something that I have to stay away from,'' said Tazawa. "Because of that, I put my team in a bad position. So I'll try to fix it.''
Behind the plate, rookie catcher Blake Swihart, who had homered in the top of the inning to give the Red Sox the lead, felt somewhat helpless as Tazawa unraveled.
"I wasn't really thinking about it too much,'' said Swihart of Tazawa's wildness. "I was just out there, trying to get my pitcher back on track, get him focused and have the confidence that I need to have to be there for him. My job is stay under control. I knew he still had it.''
Still, it took Craig Breslow, the seventh Red Sox reliever of the night, to come in, with the bases loaded, to get righthanded hitter Yoenis Cespedes on a long flyball to center for the final out.
With little help from their bullpen, the Red Sox had survived.