Syndergaard, Mets continue mastery over Reds

By HAL McCOY

The combination was awful for the Cincinnati Reds — the New York Mets and Noah Syndergaard.

The Reds show little success against the Mets and Syndergaard, so the expected happened Monday night in Citi Field.

Mets 6, Reds 4.

The Mets have won 25 of the last 32 games against the Reds and Syndergaard is 4-and-0 for his career against the Reds.

Syndergaard took a four-hit shutout into the seventh inning and owned a 6-0 lead before he hit two batters that led to four runs.

What wasn’t expected was an awful outing by Reds starter Homer Bailey, who had thrown two straight good games, including a complete game in his previous start in Detroit.

But the Mets scored three runs on five hits in the first inning Monday and Bailey was unfortunate. Four of the five hits were seeing-eye ground balls or bloops.

But Bailey started the fourth inning by giving up a home run to Kevin Plawecki, the Mets No. 8 hitter who was batting .222 and was 0 for 13.

Then he gave up a hard-hit single to pitcher Syndergaard and a couple more singles that made it 5-0. And his night was completed.

For his 3 1/3 innings, Bailey gave up five runs and 11 hits — 10 singles and Plawecki’s home run. And his season’s record dipped to 1-and-9 with a 6.19 earned run average.

The Reds tried to pull it out of the lost cause category in the seventh. It began with one out when Syndergaard hit both Preston Tucker and Phillip Ervin. Tucker, hit on the foot, later had to come out of the game.

Billy Hamilton then singled to load the bases and Jose Peraza singled home a run to make 6-1. Syndergaard was lifted at this point and relief pitcher Bobby Wahl walked Joey Votto to force in a run and make it 6-2.

Scooter Gennett struck out for the second out and Wahl was taken down for Robert Gsellman. Eugenio Suarez blooped a two-run single into left field and it was 6-4 with two runners aboard.

Mason Williams fouled off six straight pitches after it was 1-and-1. But he then struck out to leave the potential tying runs on base.

Gsellman pitched a 1-2-3 eighth and Mets manager Mickey Calloway brought in the University of Dayton’s Jerry Blevins for the ninth.

Blevins, an eight-year veteran, entered with five career saves. Now he has six as he went 1-2-3, retiring Joey Votto on a weak grounder to second to end the game.

The Mets, losers in five of their previous six games, raked the Reds for 16 hits, three by rookie Jeff McNeil, called up just recently, and one of those hits was a home run of Keury Mella for the Mets sixth run. Wilmer Flores also had three hits, as did Austin Jackson.

The Reds collected seven hits, two by Joey Votto off Syndergaard, his first hits off Syndergaard after starting 0 for 11. Votto also has reached base against the Mets in 23 straight games.

One thought on “Syndergaard, Mets continue mastery over Reds”

  1. Pity about the defense. Votto immobile at first on an otherwise double play ball. Gennett muffed another double play opportunity, and Suarez didn’t get in front of a hot hopper. Bailey didn’t get any help in the first inning.

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