After taking two-of-three from Washington and Philadelphia, the Reds lost two-of-three to the Mets,, who arrived in Cincinnati lugging a 1-5 record.
The Reds played this one as if they were under the gag rule and were wearing extra-tight strait jackets. The defense was not good, and the offense wasn’t either.
And to cast a larger black cloud over the proceedings was a one-pitch departure of relief pitcher T.J. Antone.
Antone has had two Tommy John surgeries on his elbow and he threw one pitch in the sixth inning, grabbed his elbow and departed, falling to his knees when he hit the dugout.
Francisco Lindor began the game 1-for-31 for the season and 24 straight hitless at bats when he doubled with one out in the second inning off Reds starter Andrew Abbott.
Lindor scored on a two-out infield hit by Francisco Alvarez. Lindor then homered in the fourth, his 11th career homer against the Reds and eighth in the cozy dimensions of Great American Ball Park.
The defensive lapses surfaced in the second inning after Abbott walked Starling Marte on a full count. Tyrone Taylor dumped a perfect bunt up the third-base line for a hit.
Then Jeff O’Neil pushed a bunt past the pitcher’s mound, forcing first baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand to field the ball. Abbott failed to cover the base and O’Neil had a bunt single to fill the bases.
With one out, Abbott hit Brandon Nimmo with a pitch forcing in a run and giving the Mets a 2-0 lead. And Lindor’s home run made it 3-0.
The Mets filled the bases in the third inning, aided when third baseman Jeimer Candelario fielded Bret Baty’s grounder and hesitated before throwing late to first base.
Abbott escaped that problem by striking out Taylor and inducing an inning-ending pop-up from McNeil.
The Reds’ offense, though, was non-existent — three hits, all singles, and no hits after Stuart Fairchild’s fourth-inning no-out single.
The Reds scored their only run in that inning, only one despite having the bases loaded with no outs.
Candelario led off the inning with a full-count walk against Mets left-hander Sean Manaea. Fairchild singled and Elly De La Cruz was clipped on the foot on an 0-and-2 pitch to load the bases.
Candelario scored on Santiago Espinal’s sacrifice fly. Luke Maile, who had a 13-pitch with eight foul balls at bat before striking out in the second, this time drew a 3-and-2 walk, reloading the bases.
But Bubba Thompson, making his first start and playing right field, hit into a 5-4-3 inning-ending double play.
And that concluded the scoring for both sides.
Strikeouts continue to put a crimp in Cincinnati’s offense …12 more Sunday afternoon.
Abbott worked five innings but worked too hard in throwing 95 pitches and took a seat. He gave up three runs, seven hits and walked two.
The Reds bullpen of Brent Suter (three innings, three hits) and Buck Farmer (one perfect inning) kept the Mets quiet.
It was the same for New York’s Manaea. He, too, went five innings and used up 92 pitches and turned it over to his bullpen after giving up one run, three hits and two walks.
Jorge Lopez, Brooks Raley and Adam Ottavino each pitched a scoreless inning and turned the 3-1 lead into the strong slider-throwing arm of closer Edwin Diaz.
He had converted 23 straight saves and made it 24 straight. He struck out pinch-hitter Jake Fraley, retired Maile on a fly ball to center and wrapped it up by striking out pinch-hitter Nick Martini on a slider in the dirt.
The Reds’ only opportunity after the fourth came against Raley in the seventh. He walked Maile on a full count to open the inning. After Thompson flied to center and Jonathan India popped out, Spencer Steer walked on a 3-and-2 pitch.
That put the potential tying runs on base and the potential go-ahead run in the batter’s box, Encarnacion-Strand. There were no late-game heroics this time. CES rolled into an inning-ending force at third.
And the final six Reds went down in order.
De La Cruz reached base twice on the hit-by-pitch and a walk, but also struck out twice, concluding his 12-game hitting streak.
The 5-4 Reds have dropped into a last-place tie with the St. Louis Cardinals and begin a four-game series in GABP Monday night against the Milwaukee Brewers (6-2).
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