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The Mets wanted Friday night to be a blackout at Citi Field, but didn’t want that to include their offense.
It was a busy day for the trade: Carlos Carrasco made his debut for the Mets after the Mets acquired Javier Baez, brought back their black jerseys and stopped Jacob deGrom with an injury setback. But the Mets sticks delivered the ultimate buzzkill Friday night in a 6-2 loss to the Reds.
The Mets (54-48) fell to 7-8 since the All-Star break and were hoping Baez’s arrival on Saturday could give a boost to the third-worst attacking MLB, which has been playing better lately. .
The jugular was there for the first inning, but the Mets came out empty, failing to score in a basics-laden no-exit situation that weighed heavily on the rest of the game. The Mets, who had a point in the inning, gathered just seven baserunners for the rest of the course after letting the Reds (55-49) drop early.
Michael Conforto, who struck out with goals loaded in the first inning, was the face of the Mets’ struggles on Friday. He was booed multiple times while going 0 for 4 with three strikeouts, his batting average dropping to 0.199.
Carrasco had a solid outing, despite having a home run on the first pitch he threw in a Mets uniform when Jonathan India pushed him deep to lead the game. He pitched 58 pitches in four innings, allowing one run on three hits and one walk while striking out four.
The Mets have offered little support in terms of runs, however. Sonny Gray and the Reds’ bullpen at one point struck out 15 straight batters in the eighth inning, at which point the Mets were trailing 3-1. They eventually threatened, with runners in the first and second with an out in the eighth, but Mychal Givens escaped as he brought out Jeff McNeil and Pete Alonso to complete the round.
The Reds then racked up three points early in the ninth, including the second Indian Homer of the night, a two-point shot from Anthony Banda for the 6-1 lead.
The Mets scratched a run late in the ninth, but left two more runners to end the night as they started.
Brandon Nimmo started the first inning with a single, then scored all the way to the first on a McNeil double, tying the score to one and extending McNeil’s hitting streak to 16 games. Alonso followed with a step and Dominic Smith chose to charge the goals without an out.
Gray was on the ropes, but the Mets couldn’t take advantage of it, as Conforto pulled out some catches and Jonathan Villar had a double play late in the inning.
Gray, the former Yankees right-hander, settled in from there, going on with five scoreless innings in which he allowed just two hits.
The Reds regained the advantage in the fifth round against Miguel Castro. The reliever registered two quick strikeouts before India doubled up and Jesse Winker made a single, giving the Reds a 2-1 lead.
Joey Votto remained scorching in the sixth inning, scoring his seventh straight game with a solo shot from Drew Smith that took the Reds’ lead to 3-1. The Cincinnati first baseman now has nine homers in his last seven games.
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