The Red Sox are supposed to play the Mets tonight — if they can get to New York

NEW YORK — The Boston Red Sox, set to begin their final series before the All-Star break in New York against the Mets on Friday, had not arrived in the city as of 2 p.m. ET because of plane troubles, a team source, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the situation publicly, confirmed to The Athletic.

The Red Sox completed a three-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox on Thursday afternoon and would typically fly out a couple of hours after the game. Instead, multiple issues with their chartered flight grounded them in Chicago until Friday, and they remained there as of early afternoon. The news was first reported by the Boston Globe.

As of 2 p.m., the Red Sox’s 7:15 p.m. game against the Mets was still scheduled. Around 3 p.m., a Mets spokesperson said the Red Sox had taken off and the game is still expected to be played, though first pitch might not happen on time. The Red Sox may have to head straight to the ballpark upon landing. Players typically arrive roughly five hours before first pitch for workouts and treatment.

This is the second time in a few weeks that the Red Sox have had issues with a chartered flight that delayed their travel. On a trip back from Denver on June 25, the Red Sox were not able to leave until the wee hours of the morning, arriving in Boston around 5 a.m. ET. They had a scheduled game that night against the New York Yankees and not only won the game but swept the Yankees in a four-game series that weekend.

Since that series against the Yankees, the Red Sox swept two of their next three series and are in the midst of their hottest stretch of the season, winning 11 of their past 13 games. They sit 2½ games back of the third wild-card spot in the American League.

— Tim Britton contributed to this report.