Mets 7, Reds 2 Final
On a night Noah Syndergaard pitched a rehab assignment with the Brooklyn Cyclones in the final game of their dismal season (two innings, three runs allowed on three hits with two walks and two strikeouts), Mets fans will be forgiven for thinking the most compelling baseball in the Mets universe was not being played in Flushing. And when Ron Darling starts waxing about US Open results not even a third of the way through the game, you know that no matter how professional broadcasters can be, there is very little for anyone to care for in the remains of this season, even when a paycheck is involved.
The Mets returned to their winning ways against the Reds, with a solid offensive showing behind the undoubted star of the game Brandon Nimmo having a night, with two home runs and a double, driving in three runs. He also made a terrific running catch in left field to lead off the ninth inning.
A weird moment came in the bottom of the third with two outs, as Asdrubal Cabrera hit a ball that caromed pretty clearly off the top of the wall but was called a home run by rookie third base umpire Shane Livensparger; while an umpire review quickly called it back to a double, Terry Collins forced a needless video replay. Cabrera would leave the game early after tweaking what appeared to be his back while making a nifty barehand play.
Trailing by a run, the Mets took the lead for good in the fourth; after a leadoff walk to Dominic Smith, Kevin Plawecki doubled to right field, putting two runners in scoring position with no outs; Reds rookie Tyler Mahle struck out Matt Reynolds and Matt Harvey, but Jose Reyes poked a ground ball through the right side to score both runners and put the Mets ahead, 3-2. In the fifth, Brandon Nimmo and Juan Lagares led off with back-to-back home runs.
Matt Harvey lasted five innings, giving up five hits and two earned runs with one strikeout after 74 pitches. Josh Smoker entered the game in relief in the bottom of the fifth, and promptly struck out the side. Jeurys Familia pitched an uneventful seventh and eighth and A.J. Ramos finished off the ninth.
The Mets and Reds face off again tonight at 7:10 p.m., with Seth Lugo (5-4, 5.00) facing Amir Garrett (3-6, 7.41).
Photo credit: Andy Marlin – USA Today Sports