McCoy: Reds beat Mets 6-3, gain ground in NL Wild Card race

Borrowing a page from the Toronto Blue Jays, who hit 11 home runs against the Reds in the previous three-game series, the Reds mashed three home runs that accounted for four runs en route to a 6-3 victory.

The Mets started a rookie making his second MLB start and Jonah Reid Tin Chee Matthews Tong gave up only three hits in six innings, but all three were home runs longer than his name.

Sal Stewart (his MLB career first), Matt McLain and Austin Hayes all deposited baseballs in the outfield seats.

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

But the Man of the Hour was Brady Singer.

He was acquired in the off-season from the Kansas City Royals, an unpopular trade because the Reds sent popular second baseman Jonathan India to the Royals.

And when the season began, the pitching talk was all about Hunter Greene, Andrew Abbott and Nick Lodolo. Singer was an afterthought, a No. 5 fill-in.

As it turns out, Singer was the best of the rest.

He held the high-powered Mets offense to one run, four hits and four walks over six innings.

Call him ‘The Stopper.’

The Reds have won seven of his last eight starts, seven of those eight starts have been quality — three or fewer runs over six innings.

And with 13 wins, he leads the rotation.

He had to pitch out of a jam or two and his four walks were a rare occurrence.

The Mets scored their only run off him in the third and had the bases loaded with two outs. McLain made a sharp play on Jeff McNeil’s grounder and threw him out.

New York put runners on third and first with two outs in the sixth but Singer struck out Brett Baty, the last batter he faced.

“We definitely needed it,” Singer told reporters after the game. “I just wanted to go out there and give us a chance, really, keep us in the game as much as I could.

“I look at this season and I haven’t done what I want to do, so I wanted to finish off the season as best I could,” he added. “Work hard and give everything I’ve got. The guys in this locker room deserve it.

“This season has been really, really fun and it’s a great locker room and I really want to give us a chance to win every night.”

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

And over his last eight starts, he gets an ‘A’ for backing it up.

The Reds lopped a game off their wild card deficit to five games behind the Mets and moved into a tie with San Francisco. The Giants led St. Louis, 2-0, in the ninth, but the Cardinals walked them off and won, 3-2.

But Arizona beat Boston and remain one game in front of the Reds.

Tong retired the first five Reds but issued a two-out full-count walk to Spencer Steer. On a 0-and-1 pitch, Stewart obliterated a 96 miles an hour fastball 412 feet over the center field wall for a 2-0 lead.

The Reds never let up from there.

“It felt great and it felt even better because we won,” said Stewart, the Reds’ baseball version of the Energizer Bunny. “I’m super excited and excited to win the series tomorrow.”

Asked about his wildly-displayed emotion and if fans should expect that from him at all times, Stewart said, “Yeah, I try to be a winner every time I step on the field and like I said when they drafted me, I came here to win a World Series and nothing less. I back up what I say and I’m going to continue to help the guys win.”

The suddenly rejuvenated McLain, the player who wouldn’t be playing second base if the Reds hadn’t traded India, extended his hitting streak to nine games by bashing Tong’s 1-and-0 95 miles an hour fastball 390 feet the opposite way into the right field seats for a 3-1 lead.

Hays made it 4-1 by leading the fourth with a 392-foot drive into the left field seats off another Tong fastball.

Scott Barlow replaced Singer in the seventh and the first batter he faced, pinch-hitter Jared Young homered, cutting the Reds lead to 4-2.

The Reds loaded the bases with one out in the seventh and scored a run on TJ Friedl’s single and a bases-loaded walk to Elly De La Cruz by former Reds pitcher Kevin Herget to make it 6-2.

The Mets threatened in the ninth against closer Emilio Pagan. With one out, Franciso Lindor doubled to right and has reached base nine of his 10 plate appearances in the series.

Juan Soto singled, moving Lindor to third and he scored on Pagan’s wild pitch that made it 6-3 and moved Soto to second.

Pagan then applied the silencer by striking out Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil.

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

Manager Tito Francona watched this one from home. He left Great American Ball Park before the game with an illness that is sweeping the clubhouse.

Bench coach Freddie Benavides managed the game but wouldn’t sit in Francona’s captain’s chair. And he missed a couple of games this week with the same illness.

“The win was big because either you’re down seven (games behind) or you’re back to five again,” he said. “Every game from now on is a must win. It’s a resilient group and we battle and some situations during the season has made it tough.”

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