Mets 3 Reds 2 (Great American Ballpark, Cincinnati, OH)
Mets record: 2-5
Mets streak: Won 2
WP - Drew Smith (1-0)
LP - Fernando Cruz (0-1)
SV - Edwin Diaz (1)
Seat on the Korner:
We select the star of the game and virtually invite him to a Seat on the Korner, just as Ralph Kiner used to do for his studio postgame show on WOR-channel 9 broadcasts in the early decades of the Mets.
Brett Baty's two hits and terrific play in the 5th inning led the Mets to their second victory of the season, a 3-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night.
Need to Know
Brandon Nimmo missed the game with a tight hamstring and is day-to-day.
Jose Quintana and Hunter Greene matched onesies tonight. Quintana struck out 4 in 5 and 2/3's, while Greene struck out 6 in 6 innings, both giving up one run in their outings.
Quintana's run came on a home run by Spencer Steer in the first ... a rare occurence for Quintana who had given up only 14 dingers in his previous 246 and 1/3 innings.
The Mets first two runs came on only one hit. Harrison Bader's single in the fifth was the only hit in that rally off Greene, while the Mets scored the go ahead run in the 7th on three walks and a fielder's choice.
Jeff McNeil's home run in the 8th was his first dinger of the season and provided necessary insurance.
Edwin Diaz converted his first save opportunity since 2022.
Turning Point
Brett Baty's defense saved the day. In the 5th inning with runners on first and second, Baty did this against Steer:
This play saved, at the very least, a bases loaded nobody out situation, and most likely saves the go ahead run from scoring immediately after the Mets had tied it in the top of the inning.
Three Keys
Even A Slumping Squirrel Finds a Nut
Jeff McNeil is still going through spring training, as he missed most of the actual spring training with a biceps problem. Even so, to say that McNeil needed that home run he hit in the 8th inning was an understatement.
The Mets needed it too, because it was an insurance policy that the Mets would cash out on in the ninth.
It Wasn't a Soft Underbelly Tonight
We're still waiting to find out what the identity of the Mets bullpen is going to be with Diaz back, and Adam Ottavino, Brooks Raley, and Drew Smith unchanged behind him in the set up roles. They were excellent tonight. Smith got Quintana out of the 6th by getting Luke Maile to pop out with runners on second and third to end the inning. And when Smith got in trouble in the 7th, Brooks Raley came in with runners on second and third and after walking Tyler Stephenson with first base open, he faced Elly De La Cruz with the bases loaded.
Ottavino dominated in the 8th, striking out two and getting through the inning on only 10 pitches.
Sound The Trumpets (Even If The Band Was Flat)
Edwin Diaz getting a save opportunity for the first time in over a year was significant. Diaz looked great in his other chances in 2024, but to get a save was something that Mets fans have been anxious to see.
They remained anxious throughout the inning as Diaz couldn't field a comebacker leading off the inning. Then, probably upset over the error, Diaz walked Spencer Steer to put the winning run on base. After a groundout to short by Christian Encarnacion-Strand (a play in which the runner was called safe by the umpire and inexplicably confirmed safe by the replay booth), Jeimer Candelario hit a sac fly to make it 3-2 and make McNeil's home run extremely key.
Then, after Diaaz threw a wild pitch to put the tying run on third, he had to reach back to 2022 to get that first save that he and the team desperately needed.
Even Edwin Diaz has shaky outings. Thankfully, this one ended in a win.