The Red Sox were supposed to open their three-game weekend series with the New York Mets on Friday at 7:15 p.m.

Thanks to numerous flight delays, the team didn’t arrive at Citi Field until close to two hours before the originally scheduled first pitch.

As a result, Friday’s series opener started at 7:50 p.m. instead, 35 minutes later than planned.

A Red Sox source confirmed at 3:30 p.m. that the team plane was finally airborne after nearly a day’s worth of delays leaving Chicago. The team was originally scheduled to fly from Chicago to New York on Thursday night following the club’s series finale against the White Sox, but according to multiple reports the club’s flight was grounded due to plane issues, which stranded the Red Sox in Chicago into Friday afternoon.

“We tried to make light of the situation,” Red Sox lefty Payton Tolle told reporters in New York, including MLB.com’s Ian Browne. “We tried to have fun with it. At one point, we just kind of looked at each other and started laughing because it was just ridiculous.”

Typically, MLB teams arrive at the ballpark roughly five hours before first pitch for pregame meetings and activities. The Red Sox finally arrived at Citi Field at approximately 5:05 p.m., and after MLB consulted with both clubs the decision was made to push back first pitch. The announcement was made at around 6 p.m.

That didn’t give the Red Sox much time to get ready, but after a marathon travel experience the players were grateful to finally be back on the field.

“Throw it back to the travel ball days where it’s like you drive, show up wherever you’re going and ‘show-and-go.’ Get out there and play and have fun,” Red Sox right-hander Garrett Whitlock told MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. “We know it’s not a normal day, but let’s just have fun.”

This marks the second time in three weeks the Red Sox have faced significant travel disruptions. Following the club’s June 24 series finale in Denver, the Red Sox’s flight home was forced to turn around and land due to a plane issue, and the team didn’t make it back to Boston until 5 a.m. the following day.

Since that nightmare flight the Red Sox have seen their fortunes turn around, winning 11 of their last 13 games.