Cincinnati Reds Dealt Blow In Division Title Hopes With Loss To Mets
By Jason Evans
If the Cincinnati Reds are going to win the NL Central, they are going to need a ton of help to do so now. The Reds lost to the New York Mets 4-2 tonight. The Reds are now three behind the Cardinals in the division with just five games to go.
The Reds could’ve taken the lead in the first inning, but Shin-Soo Choo was thrown out at the plate on Ryan Ludwick‘s single by Juan Lagares.
The Mets got all the runs they would need for Jonathon Niese in the second. Mike Baxter led off the inning with a double off Mike Leake. After a strikeout, Wilfredo Tovar drove in Baxter with a single, and went to second on the throw. Niese hit a single, but Jay Bruce threw out Tovar at the plate. Eric Young followed with a ground-rule double to make it second and third. Daniel Murphy followed with his 13th homer of the year.
The Reds got one of the runs back in the bottom half. Zack Cozart led off with a double and went to third on a groundout. Devin Mesoraco drove him home with a groundout.
In the fifth, Choo hit a rocket leading off the inning that curved away from Lagares in center and Choo went all the way to third with a triple. Brandon Phillips then followed with a walk. Joey Votto grounded into a double play, but the run would score.
Player Of The Game: Niese
The rubber game of the series is tomorrow afternoon at 12:30. Daisuke Matsuzaka will face Greg Reynolds.