Cincinnati’s first four hits were homers, the two by Hays and one each by Matt McLain and Tyler Stephenson.
After spotting the Mets a 2-0 lead after two innings, Reds starter Nick Lodolo slammed the door and slapped two Yale locks on it to silence the power-laden Mets.
Lodolo retired 10 in a row at one point and 15 of the last 17 to record his 12th quality start — seven innings, two runs, four hits, one walk and seven strikeouts.
For the first two innings, Lodolo was feeling for his breaking pitches and couldn’t find it... until the third inning when he retired Lindor on a weak grounder, then struck out Mark Vientos and Juan Soto.
The first four in the Mets batting order — Lindor, Vientos, Soto and Pete Alonso were 1 for 17.
“I found my rhythm there and enabled us to crawl back into the game,” Lodolo told reporters after the game. “At the beginning I was a little bit out of synch and just kept fighting myself.
“I found a way to manage it and get it going into the right direction,” he added. “I’ve thrown the breaking ball better as of late so it was good to get that rolling. As the game went on, everything got better.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Francona was in praise of Lodolo’s stick-to-it approach and told reporters, “It didn’t start out very well, but to Lodolo’s credit, he really buckled down and got us through seven. Once we started scoring, he held them down.”
Francona scheduled the optional workout and was stunned when everybody showed up. Everybody, that is, but Elly De La Cruz, who Francona ordered to stay away and rest.
“I’ve never seen that before and I’ve been doing this a lot of years,” said Francona, referring to every team member showing up for an optional workout.
At the end of the workout, Francona put together a contest — see who could hit the most balls the opposite way.
Hays won. Then, both his home runs were the opposite way to right-center field.
His first homer, in the fourth inning, cut New York’s lead to 2-1. McLain struck out his first two times, then followed with a two-run home run in the fifth to give the Reds a 3-2 lead.
His home run came after TJ Friedl was hit by a pitch. At game’s end, Friedl felt like a pinata. He tied a major league record by getting hit three times.
The Reds wrapped it up in the sixth with three runs on Hays’s second home run to lead the inning and Stephenson’s two-run homer.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
“Yesterday when I was trying to hit opposite field homers to get more points, I kept popping it up,” Hays told reporters. “I was sticking to an opposite field singles approach today. I got a couple of balls up in the zone that I could drive and got them over the wall.”
Early in the game, when the Mets took a 2-0 lead on Juan Soto’s first-inning home run and a run-scoring single by Jeff McNeil in the second, the 42,380 fans in Citi Field were so loud the planes landing at nearby LaGuardia international Airport could not be heard.
But as the Reds hammered away, the cheers turned to boos, also so loud the planes were drowned out.
“It’s great,” said Hays. “If they’re booing you in a place like this, that means you’ve done something good. It’s a good feeling to get booed on the road.”
Said Francona of the two Hays homers, “That was pretty cool to see that happen. This is a big ball park and we hit the ball out of the ball park, so I’ll take it.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
The win wasn’t as easy as it sounds. The Reds led 8-2 when the Mets, owner of MLB’s best home record (33-14), came up to bat in the bottom of the ninth.
Sam Moll retired the first two Mets, but Brandon Nimmo doubled and right fielder Connor Joe dropped a fly ball that would have ended the game, but a run scored.
Moll walked Jeff McNeil, forcing Francona to bring in closer Emilio Pagan. Pinch-hitter Brett Baty squibbed an infield single between the pitcher’s mound and first base, loading the bases.
Number nine hitter Luis Torrens, batting .140, singled to left scoring a run to make it 8-4 and bring up Francisco Lindor, representing the tying run.
Lindor was the last man the Reds wanted to face. He owns seven grand slams and a .342 batting average with the bases full. He worked the count to 3-and-2 and ended it with a pop-up to second baseman McLain.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
In three of the last four seasons, the Reds were swept in their first series after the All-Star break. It won’t happen this year.
“You sit around for four days and it is probably the most anxiety, almost of the year,” said Francona. “I had less this year because the guys came out and worked out last night. They were ready to play.”
In coming from behind for the 22nd time this season, the Reds have won five of their last six.
NEXT GAME
Who: Cincinnati at N.Y. Mets
When: 4:10 p.m., Saturday, July 19
TV: FanDuel Sports
Radio: 1410-AM, 700-AM
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