The New York Mets defeated the Cincinnati Reds, 5-1, in the series opener on Monday night at Citi Field. With the victory, New York has won four straight games and seven of their last nine.
Chris Bassitt started on the mound for the Mets and allowed an unearned run on eight hits over eight innings while walking one and striking out eight. The right-hander improved to 9-7 this season.
New York jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first as Starling Marte crushed a two-run home run over the left-field wall. That was his 12th long ball of the season.
Daniel Vogelbach extended the lead in the bottom of the third with a run-scoring single.
In the top of the fourth, Joey Votto put the Reds on the board with a groundout to make it a 3-1 game.
Tyler Naquin provided a couple of insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth as he smoked a two-run triple to extend the lead to 5-1.
Cincinnati made a little noise in the top of the ninth, but Adam Ottavino was able to work out of a jam to secure the win.
Marte and Vogelbach combined for four of the team’s seven hits.
The Mets will try to make it five in a row on Wednesday as they send Carlos Carrasco to the hill. The first pitch is slated for 7:10 p.m.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].