The Reds and the Mets were battling through a pitching duel for much of the game, but in the 9th inning it was Cincinnati that got the job done. Santiago Espinal continued his hot-hitting and came through with a clutch 2-run double to break a 1-1 tie. Alexis Diaz came on for the bottom of the inning and picked up the save in a 1-2-3 inning.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York Mets (78-65) |
3 | 7 | 0 |
| Cincinnati Reds (69-75) | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| W: Farmer (3-0) L: Maton (2-3) SV: Diaz (26) |
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| Box Score | Game Thread | |||
There was not much offense for either team through the first four innings of the game. Luis Severino didn’t give up a hit for the Mets and Julian Aguiar had only given up one hit for the Reds. Neither team had a runner come across the plate.
Cincinnati got their first hit to lead off the 5th when Jake Fraley hit a blooper the other way that landed on the infield dirt, but with a shift on the Mets couldn’t get there in time before it bounced into the outfield for a hustle double. More soft contact followed, but a blooper into right field by Santiago Espinal put men on the corners with no outs. But Luis Severino turned around and picked off Espinal and then struck out Noelvi Marte and Will Benson to strand Fraley at third base.
The Mets would get a 1-out single from Harrison Bader in the bottom of the inning and he would steal second base on a strikeout of Francisco Lindor. Cincinnati went to the bullpen there, pulling Julian Aguiar to go with Tony Santillan against Brandon Nimmo. The Reds reliever needed just one pitch to get out of the inning as Nimmo lined out to center to keep the game tied up at 0-0.
Santillan returned for the 6th inning and didn’t make it out of the inning. He walked Pete Alonso with one out and then gave up back-to-back 2-out singles with the last one by Starling Marte leading to Alonso crossing the plate to put the Mets up 1-0. Cincinnati called on Emilio Pagan at that point to try and get out of the inning. New York pulled off a double steal to put both runners into scoring position, but Pagan struck out Luis Torrens to strand both of them.
The Reds got a leadoff runner on when Ty France singled on a blooper that landed on the infield grass, but he was swapped out on the bases when Jake Fraley grounded into a force out. A wild pitch would then move Fraley up to second base. Noelvi Marte then came through with a 2-out single to tie the game up.
Elly De La Cruz added to his highlight reel of defensive plays in the bottom of the 7th inning. He tracked down a pop up from Brandon Nimmo to end the inning on a play that Statcast rated as only having a 5% catch probability.
Go long, @ellylacocoa18! pic.twitter.com/hvsqu7iyUD
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) September 8, 2024
After both squads put up zeroes in the 8th inning the Reds offense got to work in the 9th with a little bit of help from the Mets. Reliever Phil Maton entered the game and hit Spencer Steer with the second pitch of the inning. Ty France then followed up with an infield hit and both runners moved up on a groundout by Jake Fraley. That set up Santiago Espinal with a big opportunity and he came through with a 2-run double down the left field line to give Cincinnati a 3-1 lead.
Alexis Diaz took the mound for the bottom of the 9th and he would strike out Jose Iglesias to start the inning before getting Starling Marte to fly out to right field. New York then called on pinch hitter DJ Stewart but Diaz would strike him out to end the game as the Reds held on for a 3-1 win and avoided being swept by the Mets.
Key Moment of the Game
Santiago Espinal’s 2-run double in the 9th.
Notes Worth Noting
Ty France and Santiago Espinal both had two hits in the game.
Jonathan India left the game early with left elbow discomfort.
Cincinnati’s pitching staff allowed just four hits on the day and all four were singles.
The Reds win ended the Mets 9-game winning streak.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs Atlanta Braves
Monday September 9th, 6:40pm ET
Nick Martinez (7-6, 3.67 ERA) vs Charlie Morton (8-7, 4.24 ERA)
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