New York Mets defeat the Cincinnati Reds

The New York Mets defeated the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night.  The game took place at Citi Field in Flushing, New York and the final score was 5-1.  Seth Lugo started for the Mets and he pitched well and the bullpen pitched well.  Jose Reyes and Travis Taijeron each had two hits to lead the offense. 

Lugo pitched six innings giving up four hits and no runs with a walk and four strikeouts.  Lugo won his sixth game of the season.  Tommy Milone pitched a perfect inning, Paul Sewald pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and he struck out one, Jerry Blevins pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up four hits and a run with two strikeouts and AJ Ramos pitched to two batters and retired them both and earned his 27^th save of the season. 

Amir Garrett pitched five innings giving up five hits and four runs with two walks and five strikeouts.  Garrett lost his seventh game of the season.  Cody Reed pitched an inning giving up two hits and an unearned run with a walk and a strikeout, Ariel Hernandez pitched an inning with a strikeout and Luke Farrell pitched an inning giving up a hit. 

Reyes had two hits and three RBI, Brandon Nimmo had a hit and drew a walk and Travis d’Arnaud had a hit.  Taijeron had two hits and an RBI, Dominic Smith had a hit and drew a walk and Gavin Cecchini drew a walk.  Lugo had a hit, d’Arnaud and Taijeron each hit a double and Taijeron hit a homerun.  Reyes hit two homeruns and the Mets were 1-4 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base.  Cecchini was caught stealing. 

Phillip Ervin had a hit, Jose Peraza had a hit and Joey Votto had two hits and drew a walk.  Scooter Gennett had two hits, Eugenio Suarez had a hit and Tucker Barnhart had two hits.  Zack Cozart had an RBI and the Reds were 2-9 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base.  Gennett committed an error. 

In the second Taijeron hit a solo homerun to give the Mets a 1-0 lead.  In the third Reyes hit a solo homerun to push the lead to 2-0.  In the fifth Reyes hit a two-run homerun to extend the lead to 4-0.  In the sixth Reynolds reached on a force attempt error and the score was 5-0 Mets.  In the ninth Cozart hit a sac fly to cut the lead to 5-1 and that would be the final score. 

The two teams will play game two of three on Saturday. 

The New York Mets are swept by the Cincinnati Reds

The New York Mets lost to the Cincinnati Reds by the score of 7-4 on Wednesday afternoon. The game took place at Citi Field in Flushing, New York. Matt Harvey started for the Mets and wasn’t great. Daniel Murphy and Rick Ankiel led the offense with three hits each. 
Harvey pitched 6 1/3 innings giving up nine hits and four runs with three walks and six strikeouts. Scott Rice faced two batters and retired them both, Brandon Lyon pitched a perfect inning with a couple of strikeouts and Bobby Parnell lost his fourth game of the season pitching an inning and giving up three hits and three runs with two walks.

Murphy had three hits and two RBI, Ankiel had three hits and two RBI and Lucas Duda had a hit. Ike Davis drew two walks, John Buck had a hit and Ruben Tejada had a hit. Murphy, Tejada and Duda each hit a double and Ankiel hit two doubles. Ankiel hit a triple and the Mets were 2-13 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.

Matt Latos pitched 6 2/3 innings giving up eight hits and four runs with a walk and four strikeouts. J.J. Hoover faced one batter and retired him, Alfredo Simon won his fourth game of the season pitching an inning and walking one and Aroldis Chapman saved his tenth game of the season pitching an inning and giving up a hit with two strikeouts.

Shin-Soo Choo had a hit, Cozart had four hits and Joey Votto had two hits, two RBI and drew two walks. Brandon Phillips had two hits, two RBI and drew a walk, Jay Bruce had an RBI and drew a walk and Todd Frazier had a hit and two RBI. Jack Hannahan had a hit, Devin Mesoraco had a hit and drew a walk and Zack Cozart hit two doubles. Choo and Phillips each hit a double and Votto hit a homerun. The Reds were 4-10 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base. Cozart committed an error.

Ankiel hit an RBI double in the first to give the Mets a 1-0 lead. Votto hit a two run homerun in the third to make it 2-1 Reds. Murphy hit a sacrifice fly to make it 2-2 in the fifth. In the seventh Phillips hit an RBI single and Bruce hit an RBI groundout to make it 4-2 Reds. Murphy hit an RBI single in the seventh and Ankiel hit an RBI triple to make it a 4-4 game. In the ninth Phillips hit an RBI double and Frazier hit a two run single to make it 7-4 which was the final score.

The Mets record fell to 17-27 and the Reds record improved to 29-18. The Mets were swept in the three game series. The Mets will have off on Thursday and host the Atlanta Braves on Friday night for the first of three games.

The New York Mets are shutout by the Cincinatti Reds

The New York Mets were defeated by the Cincinnati Reds by the score of 4-0 on Tuesday night. The game took place at Citi Field in Flushing, New York. Jon Niese started and pitched well for the Mets. The Mets bullpen wasn’t bad either but their offense didn’t do much. 
Niese pitched six innings giving up five hits and three runs with none of them being earned runs. He walked three and struck out seven and suffered his fifth loss of the season. LaTroy Hawkins pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out one, Scott Rice pitched an inning striking out two and Collin McHugh pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run with a strikeout.

Daniel Murphy had a hit, Mike Baxter drew a walk and Lucas Duda had a hit and drew a walk. John Buck had a hit, Ruben Tejada drew a walk and Buck and Duda each hit a double. The Mets were 0-4 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. Wright committed an error.

Mike Leake picked up his fourth win of the season pitching seven innings giving up three hits and no runs with two walks and four strikeouts. Sam LeCure pitched an inning giving up a walk and striking out one and Logan Ondrusek pitched a perfect inning with a couple of strikeouts.

Zack Cozart had a hit, Joey Votto had a hit and drew a walk and Brandon Phillips had a hit. Jay Bruce drew a walk, Todd Frazier had two hits and Donald Lutz had a hit. Devin Mesoraco had a hit, two RBI and drew a walk, Frazier hit a double and Mesoraco hit a homerun. The Reds were 1-6 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.

Frazier reached on an error by Wright and two runs scored, Mesoraco had an RBI walk and it was 3-0 Reds. The Reds tacked on another run in the ninth on a Mesoraco solo homerun.

MLB Playoffs have started and drama already

The baseball playoffs began on Friday with two wild card play in games. They were one game playoffs between the Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals and the Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles and the Cardinals won each upsetting the home team and advancing to play the number one seed. 
In the case of the Orioles they will be taking on their division rivals the New York Yankees and the Cardinals will be taking on the Washington Nationals.

In the Braves/Cardinals game there was some controversy as a infield fly was called in the eighth inning. When you first saw the play the thought is that the ball was in the outfield how could an infield fly be called?? The answer to that though is, it can be called anywhere in the field as long as an infielder has a reasonable chance to catch the ball. The call itself wasn’t wrong the more I have reviewed it and gone over the rule. The only thing that may have been wrong was that the umpire called it too late. He seemed to call it an infield fly as the ball was coming down. The display that the fans in Atlanta put on was despicable and that should never happen.

The other game was a close game for the most part and then the Orioles scored a couple of ninth inning runs to put the game away. The Orioles and Yankees split their 18 games this season and it will be the first time that divisional opponents will meet each other in the first round. I believe the Yankees are a better team and will win in four games. In the postseason though anything could happen. I think that the Nationals will also win and the Red/Giants matchup is very intriguing. I would say that the Reds would win but that is a very tough series to pick. The Oakland Athletics are a hot team but the Tigers have a triple crown winner and one of the best pitchers in baseball. I think the Tigers will probably win that series in five games.

It should be a fun and exciting postseason and I will keep it all covered here on the blog. I will have full Yankees coverage coming tomorrow. I also do want to do a Mets season in review article in the near future.

The Mets avoid the sweep in Cincinnati

The New York Mets defeated the Cincinnati Reds by the score of 8-4 on Thursday night. The game took place at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, Ohio. Matt Harvey started for the Mets and pitched well, the bullpen had mixed results and Frank Francisco didn’t pitch well. Ike Davis led the Mets offense. Homer Bailey didn’t pitch great for the Reds. The Reds bullpen pitched pretty well and Jay Bruce led the Reds offense.  Harvey pitched 7 2/3 innings giving up four hits and a run with a walk and eight strikeouts. Harvey won his second game of the season, Bobby Parnell faced one batter and struck him out and Frank Francisco pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up four hits and three runs with a walk and a strikeout. Jon Rauch saved his third game of the season pitching to one batter and striking him out. Bailey lost his eighth game of the season pitching 5 2/3 innings giving up eight hits and six runs with four of them being earned. He walked three and struck out six. Simon pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a walk and striking out two, Ondrusek pitched an inning striking out one and Arredondo pitched an inning giving up a hit and two runs with one of them being earned. He walked one batter.
Ruben Tejada had a hit and an RBI, Mike Baxter had a hit and an RBI and David Wright had a hit and drew a walk. Davis had two hits, two RBI and drew a walk, Scott Hairston had a hit and drew a walk and Justin Turner drew a walk. Jason Bay had two hits and an RBI, Kelly Shoppach drew a walk and Harvey had a hit and two RBI. Harvey, Tejada and Davis each hit a double and Davis and Bay each hit a homerun. The Mets were 3-9 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base.
Zach Cozart had a hit and an RBI, Drew Stubbs drew a walk and Brandon Phillips had a hit. Ryan Ludwick had a hit and an RBI, Bruce had two hits and an RBI and Todd Frazier drew a walk. Scott Rolen had a hit, Devin Mesoraco had a hit and Miguel Cairo had a hit and an RBI. Phillips hit a double, Bruce hit two and Cozart also hit a double. Ludwick hit a homerun. The Reds were 3-11 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base. Phillips, Rolen and Cozart each committed an error.
In the fourth inning Davis hit a solo homerun and Harvey hit a two run double to give the Mets a 3-0 lead. Bay hit a solo homerun in the sixth, Tejada hit an RBI double and Baxter hit an RBI single making it a 6-0 game. In the seventh Bruce hit an RBI double to make it a 6-1 game. Davis hit an RBI double in the ninth and Turner reached on an error scoring another run to make it 8-1. In the bottom of the ninth the Reds made it somewhat interesting. They scored three runs to make it an 8-4 game. Ludwick hit a solo homerun, Cairo hit an RBI single and Cozart hit an RBI double.
The Mets record improved to 56-62 and the Reds record dropped to 71-47. The Mets lost two out of three games in the series. The Mets will play Friday night at the Washington Nationals as they begin a three game weekend series.

The Mets get swept at home by the Reds

The New York Mets were defeated by the Cincinnati Reds by the score of 3-1 on Sunday afternoon. The game took place at Citi Field in Flushing, New York. Chris Young started for the Mets and pitched well again. The Mets bullpen pitched well. Josh Thole led their offense which didn’t produce much. Johnny Cueto started for the Reds and pitched very well and their bullpen shut it down. Zack Cozart led the Reds offense. 
Young pitched seven innings giving up nine hits and three runs with two of them being earned. Young walked two and struck out two and suffered his first loss of the season. Jon Rauch pitched an inning walking a batter and striking out another batter and Frank Francisco pitched an inning giving up a hit. Cueto pitched seven innings giving up six hits and a run. He walked one and struck out eight and Cueto picked up his eighth win of the season. Jose Arredondo pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and walking one and Sean Marshall picked up his ninth save of the season. Marshall pitched 1 1/3 perfect innings including a strikeout.

Kirk Nieuwenhuis had a hit, David Wright had a hit and Lucas Duda had a hit and drew a walk. Ike Davis had a hit, Daniel Murphy had a hit and Thole had two hits. Young had an RBI and drew a walk, the Mets were 1-5 with runners in scoring position and they left seven men on base. Duda committed an error.

Cozart had three hits, Wilson Valdez had a hit and an RBI and Joey Votto had three hits and drew a walk. Brandon Phillips had a hit and an RBI, Jay Bruce drew a walk and Willie Harris drew a walk. Ryan Hanigan and Cueto each had a hit. Cueto, Cozart and Hanigan each had a double. The Reds were 3-14 with runners in scoring position and they left 10 men on base. Cairo and Harris each had a stolen base. Cairo committed an error.

In the second Young walked to give the Mets a 1-0 win. In the fifth Valdez hit an RBI single. Phillips hit a two run single and it was 3-1 Reds. The Reds would hold onto that lead and that would be the final score.

The Reds swept the three game series. The Mets record dropped to 35-32 and they have been involved in three straight sweeps. They got swept then swept a series and now got swept again. The Reds improved their record to 38-27. The Mets will remain at home and begin a three game series with the Baltimore Orioles on Monday night.

The New York Mets are on the verge of being swept

The New York Mets were defeated by the Cincinnati Reds 4-1 on Saturday night. The game took place at Citi Field in Flushing, New York. Jon Niese started for the Mets and pitched ok, the Mets bullpen pitched a good game. Wright had the only RBI for the Mets. Homer Bailey started for the Reds and pitched well. The Reds didn’t have one batter who had more then a hit but they had eight players with a hit. 
Niese pitched seven innings giving up six hits and four runs. He walked one and struck out seven. Niese suffered his third loss of the season. Tim Byrdak pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up two hits and he struck out one and Miguel Batista pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up a walk and a strikeout. Bailey pitched eight innings giving up six hits and a run with a walk and three strikeouts. Bailey won his fifth game of the season. Aroldis Chapman picked up his eighth save of the season, he pitched an inning giving up a walk and striking out one.

Daniel Murphy had a hit, Wright had a hit, RBI and drew a walk and Lucas Duda had a hit. Ike Davis, Scott Hairston and Josh Thole each had a hit. Andres Torres drew a walk. Murphy, Wright and Hairston each had a double. The Mets were 2-12 with runners in scoring position and they left eight men on base. Murphy had a stolen base.

Cozart had a hit, Valdez had a hit and Joey Votto had a hit and drew a walk. Brandon Phillips had a hit, Jay Bruche had a hit and three RBI and Frazier had a hit and drew a walk. Ryan Ludwick had a hit and an RBI, Mesoraco had a hti. Bruce hit a homerun. The Reds were 2-8 with runners in scoring position and they left six men on base. Bruce hit a three run homerun in the first to give the Reds a quick 3-0 lead. Wright hit an RBI double in the bottom of the first. It was 3-1 Reds until Ludwick hit an RBI single to make it 4-1.

The Reds improved their record to 37-27 and the Mets record dropped to 35-31. The Mets will look to avoid the sweep.

The New York Yankees late rally falls just short as they lose to the Cincinatti Reds

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Cincinnati Reds by the score of 6-5 on Saturday afternoon. Ivan Nova started for the Yankees and set a career high in strikeouts but he still gave up too many runs. He really made one bad mistake that cost him. The bullpen did a good job. The Yankees offense was ok but not great. They were good late but came up just short. Jayson Nix led the Yankees offense, Nick Swisher and Raul Ibanez both had good days. Joey Votto led the Reds offense with a big hit. 
Nova pitched six innings giving up seven hits and five runs. He walked two and struck out 12 and suffered his second loss of the season. Cody Eppley pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a walk, Clay Rapada pitched 2/3 of an inning and retired both batters that he faced. David Phelps pitched two innings giving up a hit and an unearned run. He walked one and struck out three.

Homer Bailey got his second win of the season pitching 6 1/3 innings and giving up seven hits and three runs. He walked one and struck out seven. Aroldis Chapman pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts and Sean Marshall the closer struggled pitching 1/3 of an inning and giving up four hits and two runs with a strikeout. Jose Arredondo picked up his first save of the season pitching 2/3 of an inning retiring both batters that he faced on groundouts.

Derek Jeter had a hit, Curtis Granderson drew a walk and Ibanez had two hits and an RBI. Swisher had two hits and an RBI, Russell Martin had a hit and an RBI and Eric Chavez had a hit. Andruw Jones had a hit and Nix had three hits and two RBI. Ibanez had two doubles, Martin and Nix each had a homerun. The Yankees were 2-7 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.

Chris Heisey had two hits and an RBI for the Reds. Drew Stubbs drew two walks, Joey Votto had a hit, three RBI and drew a walk. Brandon Phillips had two hits and an RBI, Jay Bruce drew a walk and Mike Costanzo had a hit. Devin Mesoraco and Heisey each had a double and Votto had a homerun. The Reds were 3-10 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base. Stubbs had a stolen base and was picked off.

Phillips hit an RBI single in the first inning to give the Reds a 1-0 lead. Heisey hit an RBI double in the second to make it 2-0 Reds. Martin hit a solo homerun in the third to make it a 2-1 game. Ibanez hit an RBI double in the fourth to tie the game at two. Votto hit a three run homerun in the fifth to make it 5-2 Reds. The Yankees cut the lead to 5-3 on a Nix solo homerun in the bottom of the fifth inning. Costanzo hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth to give the Reds a 6-3 lead. In the ninth inning the Yankees rallied for two runs. Swisher hit an RBI single and Nix hit an RBI single but Jeter and Granderson grounded out to end the game with a man stuck on third base.

The Yankees and Reds has split the first two games of this three game series. The rubber game will be played on Sunday afternoon. CC Sabathia and Johnny Cueto will square off in a good pitching matchup. The Yankees will remain home and take on the Kansas City Royals for three games. The Yankees would like to start making a run now as they are in fourth place and five games behind the division leading Baltimore Orioles.

The Yankees get a vintage Pettitte as the offense puts it away late

The Yankees get a great start out of Andy Pettitte and score late to secure a victory
The New York Yankees defeated the Cincinnati Reds by the score of 4-0 on Friday night. Andy Pettitte made the start and got his first win since 2010. He turned back the clock and was great on this night. The Yankees offense struggled again for most of the game. They got a couple of homeruns in the eighth inning and were able to secure the win. Bronson Arroyo started for the Reds and was great for seven innings. The Reds offense only managed four hits.

Pettitte pitched eight shutout innings giving up four hits. He walked one and struck out nine. Boon Logan pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. Arroyo took his second loss of the season. He pitched 7 2/3 innings giving up nine hits and four runs with a walk and four strikeouts. Jose Arredondo struck out the only batter that he faced.

Derek Jeter had a hit, Curtis Granderson had two hits and Robinson Cano had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk. Alex Rodriguez had two hits and an RBI, Raul Ibanez had a hit and two RBI and Nick Swisher had a hit. Rodriguez had a double, Cano and Ibanez each had a homerun. The Yankees were 0-7 with runners in scoring position and they left five men on base. Stewart had an error and a passed ball.

Drew Stubbs had a hit, Chris Heisey had a hit and drew a walk and Todd Frazier had a hit. Ryan Hanigan had a hit.

In the fourth Rodriguez grounded out to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. In the eighth Cano hit a solo homerun and Ibanez hit a two run homerun to make it 4-0 Yankees. The Yankees improved their record to 21-18 and the Reds dropped to 19-19.

The two teams will play game two of their three game series on Saturday afternoon. The Yankees with the win snapped a three game losing streak. The Yankees remain in fourth place in the AL East.

The New York Mets earn a two game split with the Cincinatti Reds

The New York Mets defeated the Cincinnati Reds by the score of 9-4 on Thursday afternoon. R.A. Dickey started for the Mets and was erratic, the Mets bullpen pitched very well. The Mets offense woke up in the middle innings and had a very good eighth inning. David Wright led the way for the Mets offense. The Reds starter Mat Latos pitched pretty well but the bullpen didn’t. Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips led the Reds offense. 
Dickey pitched six innings giving up five hits and four runs with three earned with one walk and eight strikeouts. Jon Rauch pitched an inning giving up a hit and he struck out two, Bobby Parnell picked up his first win pitching and inning and giving up a hit with a strikeout and Frank Francisco pitched an inning with a hit and he walked a batter. Latos pitched five innings giving up seven hits and three runs with three walks and seven strikeouts. J.J. Hoover pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout, Aroldis Chapman pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run with two walks and two strikeouts and Logan Ondrusek took the loss pitching an inning giving up four hits and five runs with a walk and a strikeout. He is now 3-1 on the season.

Andres Torres had a hit, Kirk Nieuwenhuis had a hit and Rob Johnson had a hit. Wright had two hits, an RBI and three walks, Lucas Duda had two hits and two RBI and Daniel Murphy had two hits and drew a walk. Ike Davis drew a walk, Justin Turner had a hit and two RBI and Ronny Cedeno had two hits and three RBI. Scott Hairston drew a walk and Mike Baxter had an RBI. Wright had two doubles, Murphy and Duda each had a double. Cedeno had a homerun, the Mets were 3-15 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base. Wright and Nieuwenhuis each had a stolen base. Nickeas had two passed balls.

Votto had two hits and an RBI, Brandon Phillips had two hits and Ryan Ludwick had a hit. Todd Frazier had a hit and drew a walk, Ryan Hanigan had a hit, RBI and drew a walk and Latos had an RBI. Chris Heisey had a hit. Hanagan, Phillips, Frazier and Heisey each had a double. Votto had a homerun, the Reds were 1-8 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. Frazier and Stubbs committed an error.

In the fourth the Reds took a 1-0 lead on a Votto solo homerun. Hanigan hit an RBI double, Latos hit a sacrifice fly and a passed ball scored another run. The Reds had a 4-0 lead. In the fifth Duda hit a two run double to make it 4-2. Baxter hit a sacrifice fly to make it 4-3 in the sixth inning. Turner hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh to tie the game at four. In the eighth the Mets took the lead on a Wright RBI double, making it 5-4 Mets. Turner hit an RBI single and Cedeno hit a three run homerun to make it 9-4.

The Mets split the two game series with the Reds and improved their record to 21-17. The Reds record dropped to 19-18. The Mets will head to Toronto to take on the Toronto Blue Jays and the Reds will remain in New York to take on the Yankees in a three game weekend series.

The New York Mets lose to the Reds as they blow a late lead

The New York Mets were defeated by the Cincinnati Reds by the score of 6-3. Johan Santana started for the Mets and pitched pretty well. The bullpen was not good. The Reds pitching was good and Leake the starting pitcher also had a couple of hits. Lucas Duda led the Mets offense. 
Santana pitched 6 2/3 innings giving up six hits and two runs with two walks and five strikeouts. Bobby Parnell struck out the only batter that he faced, Jon Rauch took the loss pitching 1/3 of an inning giving up three hits and three runs and Tim Byrdak faced one batter and got him out. D.J. Carrasco pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a hit and a run with a strikeout.

Kurt Nieuwenhuis had a hit, Mike Baxter had a hit and David Wright drew two walks. Duda had three hits and an RBI, Ike Davis had a hit and an RBI and Justin Turner had a hit. Mike Nickeas had an RBI. Davis had a double and the Mets were 2-7 with runners in scoring position and they left seven men on base. Baxter had a stolen base and Nieuwenhuis was caught stealing.

Zack Cozart had a hit and an RBI for the Reds. Drew Stubbs had two hits, Joey Votto had a hit and drew a walk and Brandon Phillips had a hit and an RBI. Ryan Ludwick drew a walk, Jay Bruce had an RBI and Todd Frazier had two hits and three RBI. Devin Mesoraco had a hit and Leake had two hits. Cozart and Votto each had a double. Frazier had a homerun. The Reds were 1-5 with runners in scoring position and had five men left on base. Votto made an error.

Cozart had an RBI double in the third inning giving the Reds a 1-0 lead. Duda had an RBI single to tie the game at one in the bottom of the third. Davis hit an RBI double in the sixth and Nickeas had a sacrifice bunt that scored a run to give the Mets a 3-1 lead. Frazier hit a solo homerun in the seventh to make it 3-2 Mets. Phillips had an RBI single in the eighth, Bruce had a sacrifice fly and Frazier hit a two run homerun and it was 6-3 Reds which was the final score.

The Mets have now lost two in a row and are 20-17 on the season. The Reds improved their record to 19-17. The two teams will complete their brief two game series on Thursday night.

Mets lose to the Reds at home

The New York Mets lost to the Cincinatti Reds by the score of 6-5 on Monday night. Chris Schwinden started for the Mets and pitched pretty well but got a no decision. The bullpen used six relievers and the results were mixed. The majority pitched well but a couple of them didn’t. The offense had a good night with 13 hits and five runs scored. Jose Reyes and Ruben Tejada led the offensive charge with three hits each.
Schwinden pitched five innings giving up five hits and three runs with two of them being earned. He walked one and struck out five. Daniel Herrera gave up two hits without recording an out, Ryota Igarashi pitched 1 1/3 perfect innings with a strikeout and Tim Byrdak took the loss giving up two hits and two runs without recording an out. Byrdak is 2-1 on the season, Josh Stinson got charged with a blown save which was his first. Stinson pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit, run and a walk. Dale Thayer pitched one perfect inning striking out one and Bobby Parnell pitched a perfect inning striking out one.

Reyes had three hits and two RBI, Tejada had three hits and Willie Harris had two hits and a walk. David Wright had a hit and an RBI, Nick Evans had two hits and two RBI and Josh Thole had a hit. Jason Pridie had a hit, Schwinden had a walk and Mike Baxter also drew a walk. Evans, Reyes and Harris each had a double and Pridie had a triple. The Mets were 2-11 with runners in scoring position and they left 10 men on base. Reyes had a stolen base and Tejada was caught stealing. Schwinden had an error.

The Reds grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first on a Joey Votto sacrifice fly. In the second Devin Mesoraco hit an RBI double to give the Reds a 2-0 lead. In the bottom of the third Wright hit an RBI single and Evans hit a two run double to give the Mets a 3-2 lead. Dave Sappelt had an RBI single in the fourth inning to tie the game at three. In the bottom of the fourth Reyes hit a sacrifice fly to give the Mets a 4-3 lead. Chris Heisey hit a three run homerun in the seventh to give the Reds a 6-4 lead. The Mets would score one more run in the bottom of the eighth. Reyes hit an RBI double and the final score would be 6-5 in favor of the Reds.

The New York Mets will finish with a losing record but they would like to get a couple of wins and take the final series. The Mets record is 76-84 on the season. They were playing so well for so long, it wasn’t like they were legitimate contenders but they were hanging in there being right around 500. They got to September and just disappeared. It is possible they just got worn out, this is a good learning experience for the young guys though. The Mets did a lot of good things this season and they are headed in the right direction. They really need to straighten out their money situation with the owners and hope that they could get some pitching. The Mets would like to see Johan Santana back next season, he is an ace but what capacity will he be at. The Mets have a pretty good lineup especially if Jason Bay has found something in the last month and continues it into next season. The Mets biggest problem is winning at home and they are going to move the fences in at Citi Field to try and help with this problem. It seems that a lot of the problem is mental with the Mets and maybe even moving the fences in a little will get them thinking good thoughts and it isn’t so bad anymore. When you aren’t winning you will try anything to get it turned around.