By Hal McCoy
If the Cincinnati Reds could play the New York Mets every game, what a wonderful world it would be for them.
They won two of three games in New York in late May, then lost four straight series.
That ended Tuesday night in Great American Ball Park because the Mets are in town. After annihilating the Mets Monday, 12-0, the Reds won Tuesday’s game, 5-3, to clinch the three-game series.
And they did it in similar fashion during the game’s beginning, a big inning.
They scored four runs in the first inning on a three-run home run by Sal Stewart and a solo homer by Spencer Steer, who was 1 for 29 at the time.
Unlike Monday, when they added six runs in the second inning, on Tuesday it was hang-on time. They only scored one more run the rest of the way.
And starting pitcher Brady Singer gave them five shaky innings — one run, three hits, three walks and two hit batsman.
After two perfect innings, he gave up a run in the third, and pitched out of two bases loaded dilemmas in the third and fourth.
That is a way of life for the Mets so far. They filled the bases three times and didn’t score Monday and loaded ‘em up twice Tuesday and didn’t score.
For the two games, the Mets are 3 for 23 with runners in scoring position and have stranded 23 runners.
The Reds added a run in the fifth on Stewart’s single, giving him four RBI and the Reds a 5-1 lead.
Things got tight in the sixth when Sam Moll gave up a two-run home run to pinch-hitter Mark Vientos to make it 5-3.
T.J. Antone walked the first two Mets in the eighth, but averted disaster by striking out Vientos and Francisco Alvarez and ending it by inducing a ground ball from Carson Benge.
So who closed it? It was assigned to Tony Santillan, the man who spent nearly two weeks during which he couldn’t retire his 15-year-old second cousin.
That Reds manager Tito Francona maintained faith and confidence in the the 6-foot-2, 285-pound Santillan is remarkable.
And that faith and confidence paid off.
He was assigned to dispense with the heart and meat of the Mets’ batting order in the ninth. He struck out Bo Bichette, who has five hits in the series up until then.
Juan Soto, the $745 Million Man, nubbed one up the first base line and Santillan’s throw hit Soto between the numbers on his back and he was safe.
No problem. Santillan struck out Eric Wagaman and the game ended when Springboro native A.J. Ewing grounded out to second.
“First time in a while both my pitches (fastball, breaking ball) have been really good,” said Santillan. “I put in alot of work and I’ve been feeling alot better about myself the last week or so.
“It finally translated into the game and I feel real good about myself, feel like I’m back to where I need to be as a pitcher and to what people expect of me,” he added.
“It was trusting in myself, and the biggest thing for me is believing in myself, and who I am and what I want to be,” he said.
Francona never hesitated in using Santillan under the brightest spotlight.
“I thought he was really good,” said Francona. “He is such a competitor and he cares so much. He is figuring it out.”
And perhaps Stewart is figuring it out, too. He was 3 for 33 when he came to bat in the first inning after New York starter Kodai Senga (0-5, 9.00 ERA) walked Blake Dunn on eight pitches and walked JJ Bleday.
Stewart drove a Senga fastball into the left field seats. His run-scoring single in the fifth gave him 47 RBI.
“When I’m struggling, I don’t think overswinging is the answer and underswinging isn’t the answer,” said Stewart. “I just go out there and do whatever I need to do to help win a game, go play and enjoy the game, y’know.
“Obviously, it is not as enjoyable when I’m not playing good, but I feel I’m right there on the doorstep. I made some adjustments, feel-wise, and I’m right there. So I’m excited for the rest of the time,” he added.
Before the season began, Francona heaped wise advice on the ultra-confident hard-playing Stewart.
“He knows he’s a good hitter,,” said Francona. “But you don’t get hits every day. That was our message to him from Day One in spring training.
“We told him we know he’s a good hitter even on days he doesn’t get hits,” he added. “Just help us win. And he’s taken to that and he’s done a good job.”
The Reds had lost Singer’s last seven starts and when the fifth inning was over he had thrown 91 pitches. But he wanted to go back out for the sixth.
Francona said enough was enough.
“He probably could have gone back out and I know he wanted to,” said Francona. “He had to work so hard in the last couple of innings. I thought, man, that’s good enough.”
And other than Moll’s hiccup in the sixth, the bullpen didn’t implode as Brock Burke, Antone and Santillan finished it off with no further damage.