 before Winker drove a fastball over the right-center field fence for his career-high eighth home run, the most by a Reds player this season. Winker was hitting cleanup for the first time this year.Diaz was pitching for the third straight day for the first time this season.It was a rare night of success against New York for Cincinnati, which had lost 26 of its last 34 games against the Mets, including 13 of 16 at Citi FieldRaisel Iglesias (1-3) pitched two innings, striking out his last four batters.Cincinnati, which entered with the lowest batting average in the big leagues at .209, is 11-8 following a 1-8 start.New York dropped back to .500 at 14-14.Mets starter Zack Wheeler gave up four runs, seven hits and three walks in six innings, his average fastball velocity down about 4 mph from 98 mph in his prior start. He had allowed six hits or fewer in his previous 16 starts.Cincinnati's Tanner Roark gave up four runs, four hits and four walks in 3 2/3 innings.Wheeler walked his first two batters in a 31-pitch second. Jose Iglesias followed with an opposite-field double on an inside-out swing after he fell behind 0-2 in the count, fouled off three pitches and then watched Wheeler make a pair of pickoff attempts. Two pitches later, Tucker Barnhart lined an RBI single to right.After Roark struck out, Jose Peraza drove a hanging curveball over third baseman Todd Frazier for a run-scoring double and a 3-0 lead. Eugenio Suarez hit a sacrifice fly to the warning track in left-center.New York closed to 4-2 in the bottom half when Wilson Ramos hit an RBI double and scored on Amed Rosario's single. The Mets tied the score with a two-out rally in the fourth that included four walks and a single by Wheeler in a five-batter span. Roark forced in a run with a four-pitch walk to rookie Pete Alonso, and Wandy Peralta followed with a four-pitch walk to Brandon Nimmo.Mets reliever Jeurys Familia, who allowed earned runs in five of his previous eight appearances, got into trouble in the eighth when he walked slumping Scott Schebler leading off and hit Iglesias on the left biceps with a pitch. After a sacrifice and an intentional walk, Peraza grounded the first pitch to Frazier, who made a backhand grab, stepped on third and threw to first for a double play.EMPTY SEATSWhile the announced crowd of 20,766 was the smallest this season at Citi Field, actual attendance appeared less than half that.WEB GEMMets center fielder Juan Lagares made a running, over-the-shoulder grab before banging into the center-field wall to rob Joey Votto with a runner on in the seventh.MIXING IT UPCincinnati used its 25th batting order in 28 games for its eight position players.STUCK-ON DONUTOn a night with a 52-degree temperature at game time, Mets leadoff hitter Jeff McNeil needed to pound his bat into the dirt repeatedly in the first inning to remove a stuck donut.TRAINER'S ROOMReds: LHP Alex Wood is still bothered by his back. Sidelined since spring training, Wood threw a bullpen last week and ''didn't respond well the next day. The days after that he was doing better,'' manager David Bell said. Wood was examined again to ''make sure he's going in the right direction,'' Bell said.Mets: 2B Robinson Cano likely will miss a couple of games with a swollen left hand after getting hit by a pitch Sunday from Milwaukee's Gio Gonzalez. An MRI was negative. ... LHP Justin Wilson (left elbow soreness) threw a bullpen. He is eligible to come off the injured list Tuesday, but the Mets likely will wait until Wednesday at the earliest, manager Mickey Callaway said.UP NEXTRHP Luis Castillo (3-1), who starts Tuesday for Cincinnati, is 6-2 with a 1.18 ERA since last September. LHP Jason Vargas (1-1) goes for New York after lowering his ERA from 14.21 to 7.20 in his last two starts by allowing two runs over 8 2/3 innings in a no-decision at St. Louis and a loss to Philadelphia. RHPs Jacob deGrom (2-3) and Noah Syndergaard (1-3) start the remainder of the four-game series for New York. ''Probably the most important games are going to be the last two, when we've got our two big dogs pitching, trying to continue to right the ship and get us headed in the right direction,'' Callaway said.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Reds' Roark has successful history vs. Mets Reds' Roark has successful history vs. MetsThe New York Mets will face a familiar foe when they open a four-game home series against the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night.Former Washington Nationals pitcher Tanner Roark (1-1, 3.24 ERA) will start for the Reds, and he has a long history against New York.Roark is 8-4 with a 3.07 ERA in 22 games, 16 starts, against the Mets. He started five games against New York last season and went 1-2 with a 3.90 ERA.Traded to the Reds in December, the right-hander has pitched better since opening the season with two subpar efforts. In his past three starts, Roark has allowed one earned run each time out. In his last start, he allowed two runs total in five innings of a 3-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves.Roark stranded eight runners across five innings and convinced his manager to let him face the final batter of the fifth inning during a mound visit before inducing a groundout."I was kind of selfish in that point, but I felt like I needed to stay in there and prove that I definitely can go longer than five innings," Roark told the Cincinnati Enquirer. "That's a confidence booster." Roark will face left-hander Zack Wheeler, who did everything for the Mets in his last start, a 9-0 win against the Philadelphia Phillies. Wheeler struck out 11 in seven innings and added a two-run double and a solo home run at the plate."That's probably one of the best games we've ever seen him throw," manager Mickey Callaway told the New York Post.In his past three starts, Wheeler has a 2.25 ERA over 20 innings, giving up five runs and 16 hits, walking six and striking out 24.Wheeler is 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA in two career starts against the Reds.On Sunday, Steven Matz pitched seven strong innings and the Mets scored three late runs to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-2 and salvage the finale of a three-game series.Pinch-hitter J. D. Davis drove in the go-ahead run with an infield single in the bottom of the seventh, and pinch-hitter Thomas Nido added two runs with a bases-loaded double in the eighth.Matz (3-1) allowed two runs on five hits while striking out four without a walk after the Brewers had bested Mets starters Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard in the first two games of the series."I feel really comfortable," Matz told the New York Daily News. "I have a lot of confidence out there. It's been good to work with (catcher) Wilson (Ramos). We seemed to have a good rhythm today." Seth Lugo struck out the side in the eighth and Edwin Diaz pitched the ninth for his eighth save.The Mets lost second baseman Robinson Cano when he was hit on the left hand by a pitch in the first inning. Though X-rays on the hand were negative, Cano was slated to undergo additional testing.Cincinnati returns home after losing three of five following a 5-2 defeat against the Cardinals in St. Louis on Sunday.Scott Schebler snapped an 0-for-19 streak with a two-run double in the ninth for the Reds. The Reds had gone 11 innings without a run and are hitting .209 as a team."The story was we couldn't string anything together on offense," Reds manager David Bell told the Cincinnati Enquirer. "We had baserunners; we just weren't able to string anything together to get any runs." Cincinnati starter Sonny Gray (0-4) gave up three hits in five innings. He struck out five and walked two.--Field Level Media
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