After giving up a run in each of the first two innings, Nick Lodolo and the Reds pitching staff shut the Mets down for the next seven innings. Austin Hays homered twice and helped fuel a come back as Cincinnati scored in five straight inning, but New York rallied in the bottom of the 9th with a little help from the bullpen and defense in a shaky inning that eventually the Reds closed out to start the post All-Star break with a win.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (51-47) | 8 | 8 | 1 |
| New York Mets (55-43) | 4 | 7 | 0 |
| W: Lodolo (7-6) L: Carrillo (0-1) | |||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
The first game back after the All-Star break didn’t get out to the best start for the Reds as All-Star snub Juan Soto cracked a solo home run in the 1st to put the Mets up 1-0. The next inning saw New York tack on another run when Jeff McNeil singled in Brandon Nimmo as the home team built a 2-0 lead.
Cincinnati didn’t have a hit entering the 4th inning, but that all changed when Austin Hays led off with his 9th home run of the year. In the next inning the Reds would take the lead after TJ Friedl was hit by a pitch and Matt McLain crushed a 2-run home run.
The home run derby continued for Cincinnati an inning later as Austin Hays hit his second of the day to lead off the inning. Spencer Steer followed up with a walk and then scored when Tyler Stephenson hit the Reds 4th homer of the game, making it 6-2. They would tack on another run in the 7th on an Elly De La Cruz single.
While the offense was tacking on runs left and right, Nick Lodolo had really settled in after the 2nd inning. He would finish his day with seven strikeouts in seven innings before handing the game over to the bullpen.
In the 8th inning the Reds would benefit from 2-out wildness from Brandon Waddell as he hit a batter and then walked three in a row to bring in a run. Graham Ashcraft tossed a perfect bottom of the frame to keep his team’s lead at six runs.
Cincinnati then turned the game over to Sam Moll in the 9th and he picked up the first two outs, but then gave up a 2-out double. The game looked to be over on a fly ball to right field, but Connor Joe dropped it and the Mets scored a run and kept the game alive. A walk would follow and that ended the night for Moll. Emilio Pagan then entered the game and gave up back-to-back singles as New York made it 8-4 and had the bases loaded for Francisco Lindor. The two battled for six pitches before a lazy pop up into shallow right field that Matt McLain camped under ended the game and started the Reds out with a win in the second half.
Key Moment of the Game
The 6th inning home runs by Austin Hays and Tyler Stephenson that turned a 3-2 game into a 6-2 game and essentially put things away.
Notes Worth Noting
Austin Hays homered twice in a game for the second time this season. Both times have come on the road, with the first time happening back in April against the Rockies.
Matt McLain and Tyler Stephenson both went 2-4 with a double, home run, a walk, and had two runs batted in.
Nick Lodolo completed seven innings for the second time of the season. He lowered his ERA to 3.33 with his outing.
TJ Friedl was hit by three pitches in the game.
Cincinnati batters walked seven times in the game on top of Friedl being hit three times. 10 free base runners does a long way.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs New York Mets
Saturday July 19th, 4:10pm ET
Nick Martinez (7-9, 4.78 ERA) vs Clay Holmes (8-4, 3.31 ERA)
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