Sal Stewart celebrated his first major league home run and Brady Singer battled through six innings for the Cincinnati Reds as they ended a three-game losing streak by beating the visiting New York Mets 6-3 on Saturday.
Matt McLain and Austin Hays added solo homers as the Reds (71-71) try to stay in the National League wild-card race and chase down the Mets (76-77), who hold one of those three playoff spots. Those were also the only hits the home team got off Mets starter Jonah Tong (1-1) in the rookie right-hander’s six innings.
New York leadoff batter Francisco Lindor went 3-for-4 with two doubles. He scored from third on an Emilio Pagan wild pitch in the ninth. Pagan overcame two hits and the run in the inning by striking out three to get the Reds back to .500.
Stewart, a top prospect whom the Reds promoted on Monday, took Tong to straightaway center in the second inning to give Cincinnati a 2-0 lead. The 21-year-old prospect rounded the bases jubilantly, waving his arms as Spencer Steer, who drew a two-out walk ahead of Stewart, also scored.
Singer (13-9) allowed one run on four hits and struck out five. The right-hander did match a season-high with four walks. He issued two of those and hit Pete Alonso in the third inning, when the Mets got a run back on a Brandon Nimmo sacrifice fly that plated Cedric Mullins.
McLain made it a two-run game again in the Reds’ half of the third with a leadoff blast, his 14th homer of the season, that just sailed over the wall in right center. Hays followed suit in the next inning with a laser to left field to start that frame. It also was Hays’ 14th homer.
Tong, making his second start for the Mets, went six innings. He struck out six but walked four to go along with the three hits and four earned runs allowed.
New York’s Jared Young made it 4-2 with a leadoff pinch-hit homer in the seventh off reliever Scott Barlow.
However, the Reds scored a pair in the seventh, with TJ Friedl’s single off Ryne Stanek scoring Steer and Elly De La Cruz bringing Jose Trevino home after Kevin Herget walked him with the bases loaded.
