Cincinnati Reds vs. New York Mets Pick & Prediction SEPTEMBER 8th 2024
Preview and Prediction
The New York Mets have experienced firsthand how quickly the Cincinnati Reds have moved up in the National League playoff race. In just over a week, the Mets have gone from being on the outskirts of the race to securing a spot in the wild-card race.
On Sunday afternoon, the Mets (78-64) will try to extend their winning streak to 10 games and complete a series sweep against the Reds (68-75) in the final game of their three-game series. The game will feature right-handers Luis Severino (10-6, 3.84 ERA) for the Mets and Julian Aguiar (1-0, 6.48) for the Reds.
The Mets continued their hot streak on Saturday with a 4-0 win over the Reds, thanks to a strong performance from pitcher Jose Quintana and a solid bullpen. This win put the Mets in a tie with the Atlanta Braves for the final wild-card spot in the National League. However, the Mets took sole possession of the spot after the Braves' loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday night.
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The Mets have been on a roll since their last loss on August 28th against the Arizona Diamondbacks. This nine-game winning streak is their longest since April 2018 and has propelled them within two games of the San Diego Padres for the first wild-card spot and just half a game behind the Diamondbacks for the second spot.
During this winning streak, the Mets have not trailed in any of their games. Manager Carlos Mendoza attributes this success to the team's clean and efficient play on the field.
The Reds, on the other hand, had their four-game winning streak snapped on Friday with a 6-4 loss to the Mets. They were unable to capitalize on several opportunities to score, finishing 0-for-7 with runners on base.
Reds manager David Bell acknowledged the Mets' strong defense as a factor in their loss, as they were able to prevent the Reds from scoring early on in the game. The Reds will look to bounce back on Sunday with Aguiar making his fourth start in the big leagues.
In his most recent start, Severino earned a win against the Boston Red Sox after allowing just one run over seven innings. He has a career record of 1-0 with a 2.89 ERA against the Reds. Aguiar, on the other hand, made his fourth start on Monday and will be facing the Mets for the first time in his career.
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Cincinnati Reds vs. New York Mets Recap SEP 8TH 2024
Santiago Espinal lined a tiebreaking two-run double with one out in the ninth inning off Phil Maton to give the visiting Cincinnati Reds a 3-1 victory Sunday afternoon over the New York Mets, whose nine-game winning streak came to an end.
Noelvi Marte blooped a tying single in the seventh off Luis Severino for the Reds (69-75), who prevented the Mets from winning 10 straight for the first time since April 12-23, 2015.
Maton (2-3) opened the inning by hitting Spencer Steer on the arm. Third baseman Mark Vientos made a diving stop to prevent Ty France from hitting a double but could not get the out, resulting in an infield hit.
Following a groundout by Jake Fraley that moved runners to second and third, Espinal lined a 1-2 curveball past Vientos to left field.
Cincinnati rookie Julian Aguiar allowed two hits in 4 2/3 innings and Tony Santillan allowed a single to Starling Marte in the sixth to give the Mets a 1-0 lead. After Emilio Pagan got the final out of the sixth, Justin Wilson and Buck Farmer (3-0) pitched a scoreless inning apiece.
Alexis Diaz struck out two in the ninth to easily convert his 26th save in 30 opportunities.
Harrison Bader collected two hits as the Mets (78-65) finished with four. Francisco Lindor went 0-for-4 and saw his 35-game on-base streak stopped.
Severino started with four hitless innings and allowed a run on five hits in 6 2/3 innings. Severino struck out eight and walked two before Reed Garrett struck out Will Benson to end the seventh.
The Mets took the lead when Pete Alonso walked, advanced to second on Jose Iglesias' single and took a secondary lead that allowed him to score on Marte's single to center.
Severino opened the seventh by allowing an infield single to France, who was forced at second. After avoiding hitting into a double play, Fraley advanced on a wild pitch and scored when Marte flailed a sinker near the right field line.