The New York Mets defeated the Cincinnati Reds 6-2 on Tuesday night at Citi Field. This win gives the Mets yet another series win, making it five in a row. The Mets are now 72-39 on the year with a five-game winning streak. They are 14-2 over their last 16 games. The Mets still have a seven-game lead on the Atlanta Braves in the NL East.
Quality start from Carlos Carrasco:
Carlos Carrasco gave the Mets a strong outing in the second game of this series. He went 6.2 innings allowing just two earned runs on a well-hit homer in the seventh. Carrasco gave up seven hits and one walk.
On the night, Carrasco threw 88 pitches. He recorded an impressive nine strikeouts. Following the five-game series in four days with the Atlanta Braves, for Chris Bassitt to pitch eight innings Monday and Carrasco nearly seven last night is huge for the Mets bullpen to catch up on rest.
Carrasco did more than enough to position the Mets for their fifth win in a row. Carrasco is now 13-4 on the year with a 3.76 ERA. His 13 wins have him tied for second in baseball.
After Carrasco, recently-acquired Mychal Givens came in to get one out. He threw a strikeout on four pitches. Following Givens, Trevor May came in. The inning pitched by May was a long one. He did not allow any runs, and all three of his outs recorded were strikeouts. However, he threw a 29-pitch eighth inning that included a hit and two walks allowed. Seth Lugo came in for the ninth and did a sound job. He threw 14 pitches and retired all three batters he faced.
Lindor, McNeil, and Ruf anchor Mets’ order:
The Mets lineup totaled nine hits and four walks, striking out just four times in game two of the series. Francisco Lindor got things going for the Mets in the third inning. He hit one well to left-center for a two-run homer. Lindor now has a stat line of .268 batting, 20 home runs, and 79 RBIs. His runs batted in amount of 79 has Lindor tied for sixth in baseball. Also, his 20-home run season makes him the first Mets shortstop to ever have two 20-home run seasons. Lindor is playing some incredible ball for the Mets as of late.
Home run number 20 on the season for Francisco Lindor.
He is the first shortstop in Mets history with multiple 20 home run seasons. pic.twitter.com/2EciIiPcTd
— Steve Gelbs (@SteveGelbs) August 10, 2022
Jeff McNeil and Darin Ruf both gave the Mets 2-for-4 nights with two RBIs and a run scored. McNeil hit a solo home run to right-center on a well-hit ball. His batting average is now .306 on the year, eighth in the MLB. After the Reds intentionally walked Pete Alonso to load the bases with two outs in the seventh, Ruf hit a single to opposite field, driving in two runs, giving the Mets more breathing room to close out the game.
In terms of other noteworthy takeaways from the Mets batting order, one-hit games were all had by Mark Canha, Eduardo Escobar, Luis Guillorme, and Tomas Nido. Canha got across and scored twice, Nido once. Two of the Mets’ biggest bats, Starling Marte and Pete Alonso, went hitless but reached base with a walk.
For the Mets to score six runs with no Brandon Nimmo, Daniel Vogelbach, or Tyler Naquin in the lineup was encouraging. Hopefully, the Mets can keep it going tonight and complete the series sweep.