NEW YORK -- In the end, the New York Mets' bullpen was worse than that of the Red Sox. But only by a little.
The Red Sox erupted for three runs in the top of the 10th, led by a leadoff inside-the-park homer by Blake Swihart, then held off the Mets, 6-4.
Facing Carlos Torres, Swihart led off the top of the 10th by blasting a ball to straightaway center. The ball may have actually gone above the line atop the fence in center, but the carom bounced back into medium center, while the speedy Swihart rounded the bases.
It was the first inside-the-park homer for a Red Sox player since Jacoby Ellsbury hit one in September 2011.
The Sox tacked on some additional runs with a sacrifice fly from Josh Rutledge and a line-drive single from Xander Bogaerts.
In the bottom of the 10th, Junichi Tazawa walked four straight hitters to force in a run and had to be rescued by Craig Breslow, who left the bases loaded when he got Yoenis Cespedes to fly out to center.
Boston relievers walked eight hitters in five innings.
Boston Red Sox
The Sox had earlier rallied from a 2-0 deficit. The homer snapped a 3-3 tie, forged when Alexi Ogando walked home the tying run with the bases loaded in the seventh.
The Red Sox had scored three times in the top of the seventh but Ogando gave one right back in the bottom of the inning with a stretch of wildness that saw him issue three walks in the span of five hitters, the last of which, to Travis d'Arnaud, came with the bases loaded, forcing in a tying run.
Blanked over the first six innings, the Red Sox used the long ball against the Mets' bullpen to rally for three runs in the seventh.
David Ortiz drove a pitch from Logan Verrett out to center for his 27th of the season and No. 493 of his career, tying him with Lou Gehrig and Fred McGriff.
After two were out, Blake Swihart punched a single to center and Jackie Bradlley Jr. homered to center for his sixth homer of the season and fifth this month, giving the Red Sox their first lead of the night.
Lefty Henry Owens, making his fifth start of the season, had some command issues, walking four in five innings, but was otherwise effective.
The Mets nicked him for a run in the fourth when Wilmer Flores doubled to left with one out and rode home on a single up the middle by d'Arnaud.
The following inning, Owens's defense let him down. With two out, David Wright singled to center and Michael Cuddyer followed with an opposite field single to right.
With two out, Wright was thinking about going first-to-third and right fielder Rusney Castillo charged in for the ball. But the ball skipped underneath his glove, allowing Wright to score all the way from first as Cuddyer took third.
The Sox couldn't get much done against starter Matt Harvey, who allowed just two hits -- both singles - in his six innings of work.
The only time the Red Sox had multiple runners in the same inning against Harvey came in the first when Pablo Sandoval walked and went to second on a single to right by Bogaerts. But an inning-ending double play by Ortiz ended that early threat.