Inside The Mets

New York Mets Escape Cincinnati With Series Win After Late Rally, Offensive Explosion

New York Mets' offense wakes up in late rally to escape Cincinnati with series win.

Pat Ragazzo

In this story:

The Mets were on the brink of losing two out of three games to the lowly Cincinnati Reds. 

But after two straight frustrating days at the plate, piled on top of a rough two weeks while hitting with runners in scoring position (.167 average), the Mets' offense woke up late to escape Cincinnati with a series win on Wednesday night. 

With one out in the ninth inning, former Met Hunter Strickland gave up a single to Brandon Nimmo, which got things going for New York, who trailed by a score of 3-2 at the time. That's when Starling Marte subsequently snuck a chopper down the third base line, which barely bounced fair, tying the game at 3-3.

Although Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso were unable to drive Marte home, reliever Adam Ottavino worked a scoreless bottom of the ninth to push the contest to extra innings.

And with a ghost runner on second base in the 10th, the Mets wouldn't be denied. Dominic Smith continued his hot hitting with a clutch go-ahead RBI double to put his team on top. But that wasn't all, struggling catcher James McCann picked up a much-needed RBI single of his own, giving the Mets a big insurance run, which featured an impressive heads up slide by Smith. 

With the Mets now leading by two runs, Nimmo came back to the dish and cranked his second three-run home run of the series, busting the game open at 8-3. Nimmo's long ball helped the Mets put up a five spot on the Reds in the top of the 10th. 

"We definitely know we're capable of it," Nimmo said of the Mets' offensive production. "This does nothing but add confidence to the offense and the guys in the clubhouse."

"That's a good win, a grind win in a tough environment," said manager Buck Showalter.

In the bottom half, closer Edwin Diaz shut the door by striking out the side in a non-save situation to secure the victory. 

Prior to the ninth inning, the Mets had 11 hits but only two runs to show for it. They were also shutout in a walk-off loss on Tuesday. While it wasn't pretty for much of the evening, their latest comeback win improved their record to 51-31, as they remain 2.5 games up on the surging Atlanta Braves.

An additional underrated factor in the Mets' win was Adonis Medina's three shutout innings in long relief after lefty starter David Peterson lasted just 3 2/3 innings. 

Read More:

- Mets' Max Scherzer Shatters Expectations in Return From IL

- Mets Rehab Assignment Updates: Jacob deGrom, Travis Jankowski

- Mets' Jacob deGrom Dominates in First Rehab Start

Follow Pat Ragazzo on Twitter (@ragazzoreport), be sure to bookmark Inside The Mets and check back daily for news, analysis and more.

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Pat Ragazzo
PAT RAGAZZO

Pat Ragazzo is the reporter, publisher, site manager and executive editor for Sports Illustrated's Mets and Yankees On SI websites. Pat was selected as The Top Reporter & Publisher of the Year 2024 by the International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP) for outstanding leadership, dedication, and commitment to the industry. He has been seen on several major TV Network stations including: NBC4, CBS2, FOX5, PIX11 and NY1; and is frequently heard on ESPN New York FM 880 AM and WFAN Sports Radio 101.9 FM as a guest. Pat also serves as the Mets insider for the "Allow Me 2 Be Frank" podcast hosted by Frank "The Tank" Fleming of Barstool Sports. You can follow him on Twitter/X: @ragazzoreport.

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