CINCINNATI -- Everything is going the New York Mets' way these days.
Despite allowing nine baserunners, Noah Syndergaard managed to toss five scoreless innings and the Mets completed a sweep of the Cincinnati Reds with a 6-3 victory on Wednesday afternoon at Great American Ball Park.
The Mets (74-66) have won 14 straight games against the Reds. That's the second-longest winning streak in Mets history against one opponent, trailing only a 15-game winning streak against the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1986 and 1987. It is the Mets' first sweep since a four-game series against the Chicago Cubs from June 30-July 3.
The Mets are now eight games over .500 for the first time since July 8. A victory on Friday in Atlanta would match their high-water mark for the season (47-38).
More importantly, the Mets now sit only one game behind the San Francisco Giants and a half-game behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League wild-card standings. Both of those teams play Wednesday evening.
“It’s a blast,” manager Terry Collins said. “This is what you play for. I was very fortunate. In all my years managing before I came here, I was in a pennant race up until the last week. There’s nothing like coming to the ballpark in September when they mean something. The energy is better. The aches and pains just don’t seem to hurt as bad. We’re fortunate to be where we are.”
With the Miami Marlins and Pirates in free fall, the battle for the two wild-card spots is shaping up to be a three-team race. And the Mets certainly have the path of least resistance. They have only one more series this season against a team with a winning record -- next week against the Washington Nationals in D.C.
Jose Reyes, Curtis Granderson and Wilmer Flores all hit home runs in Wednesday's matinee. That gives the Mets 192 long balls this season. That is eight homers shy of matching the franchise record, set in 2006. Reyes also scored on a wild pitch.
“I thought he was going to be a guy that could create some runs by getting on base,” Collins said about Reyes. “But he’s gotten big hits -- huge hits. ... There’s no question there’s a lot of baseball left in that guy.”
Facing Anthony DeSclafani, Reyes' long ball on the game's first pitch gave him 19 leadoff homers with the Mets in his career -- breaking a tie with Granderson for the franchise record. Flores' two-run homer in the eighth, which opened a 5-0 lead, was the first pinch-hit homer of his career. Flores matched a career high with his 16th homer.
Syndergaard hardly was efficient, allowing six hits and four walks in five innings, but it worked out. He threw 95 pitches, but benefited from some sloppy baserunning by the Reds.
Base stealers had been successful in 45 of 51 attempts against Syndergaard entering Wednesday. However, the Reds went 0-for-3 in attempted steals against the combination of Syndergaard and catcher Rene Rivera. Scott Schebler inexplicably slowed up approaching second base and was tagged out in the second inning. An inning later, Eugenio Suarez was picked off while straying too far from first base. With Suarez in a rundown, Jose Peraza broke for home and ultimately was tagged out instead.
After Syndergaard departed, the Mets took a shutout bid into the eighth inning, when Gabriel Ynoa loaded the bases with none out. Addison Reed entered and allowed all three inherited runners to score as Cincinnati pulled within 5-3. Suarez then struck out to strand two in scoring position.
Despite a rotation that only includes two expected members -- Bartolo Colon and Syndergaard -- the Mets have won 14 of their past 18 games.
“Our guys are completely focused on what they’ve got to do and how they’ve got to go about it,” Collins said.