NEW YORK (AP) — David Peterson struck out a career-high 11 on his 29th birthday and Francisco Lindor drove in three runs as the New York Mets beat the slumping Boston Red Sox 7-2 on Tuesday night for their sixth straight victory.

Lindor launched his 30th homer and added a pivotal RBI double, drawing another chorus of “MVP! MVP!” chants from the Citi Field crowd. Pete Alonso and Mark Vientos also went deep for the Mets, who remained a half-game behind Atlanta for the final NL wild card. New York has won 13 of 18 overall.

Vientos greeted Justin Slaten with a leadoff homer in the seventh after Lindor's two-run shot in the third was the lone Mets hit off starter Kutter Crawford (8-13), who whiffed eight in six innings.

After reliever Reed Garrett worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth to preserve a one-run lead, Lindor laced an RBI double to make it 4-2 in the bottom half. Brandon Nimmo followed with a sacrifice fly and Alonso connected for a two-run homer, his 31st longball of the season.

Peterson (9-1) pitched six splendid innings, allowing one run while lowering his ERA to 2.75 and winning his fourth consecutive decision. All six hits off the left-hander were singles — many of them coming on soft contact.

Early in the game, he threw a career-best 16 consecutive strikes as the first four innings zipped by in 59 minutes. New York improved to 14-3 in Peterson's starts since he made his season debut May 29 after recovering from hip surgery.

Nick Sogard had an RBI single for the fading Red Sox, who have dropped four in a row and five of six. They've totaled five runs in those defeats.

Boston entered 4 1/2 games behind Kansas City for the last American League playoff berth.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Red Sox: SS Trevor Story, sidelined since April 6 by a dislocated left shoulder, could be close to coming off the injured list. Story had a scheduled day off at Triple-A Worcester after playing five innings Monday in his second rehab game — and first appearance at shortstop. He's slated to play shortstop again Wednesday and doesn't necessarily need to play nine innings there before rejoining the Red Sox, manager Alex Cora said. ... RHP Liam Hendriks will make another rehab appearance Wednesday for Worcester and then hopefully pitch again Thursday at Triple-A. Boston would like the veteran reliever to get through back-to-back outings before returning to the big leagues. Hendriks has been out all season following Tommy John surgery.

Mets: RHP Dedniel Núñez (forearm tightness) will keep receiving treatment throughout the homestand this week. For now, the team doesn't think an MRI is necessary, manager Carlos Mendoza said.

UP NEXT

All-Star RHP Tanner Houck (8-9, 3.12 ERA) faces Mets RHP Tylor Megill (3-5, 4.82) in the series finale Wednesday night. Megill returned from the minors last Friday and earned a 5-1 win in Chicago over the lowly White Sox, striking out six in 5 1/3 innings.

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