CINCINNATI (AP) — The Mets lost for the 12th time in 15 games and Buck Showalter was fired for the first time as New York manager as Jonathan India drove in three runs in the Cincinnati Reds’ 7-6 victory on Tuesday night.
With New York trailing 4-1 in the fifth, Cincinnati’s Kevin Newman hit the ball up the middle and a sliding Will Myers, with his right arm outstretched in the direction of Francisco Lindor, was hit by the ball, preventing the shortstop from making a clean play. Showalter, 66, hired by the Mets before the 2022 season. was thrown by crew chief Mark Wegner.
“It’s pretty obvious what it was,” Showalter said. “But it’s hard to imagine four guys not being able to see what happened. There are about three ways you can get this game right. We had opportunities to make it not matter. We just didn’t perform very well early on.”
Bench coach Eric Chavez took over as manager.
Lindor felt the play should have been video reviewed.
“I can’t blame the refs for getting that call wrong, even though they got it wrong because the game is going very fast,” he said. “Get help from the cameras. Slow down the game and see if there is a way to make the right decision.
New York, which started with a record salary of $355 million, trailed 7-1 in the sixth inning before pulling away. The Mets (17-19), who scratched starter Max Scherzer because of neck spasms, hit four home runs on the season but lost for the sixth time in seven games.
Francisco Alvarez homered twice, doubling his major league career total, Pete Alonso hit his 12th of the season and Lindor also went deep. New York fell two games below .500 for the first time since ending the 2021 season at 77-85.
David Peterson (1-5) was called up from Triple-A Syracuse to start and allowed four runs, seven hits and two walks in 3 1/3 innings. The start would have been Scherzer’s second since being suspended 10 games by Major League Baseball for violating the foreign substance ban during an April 19 game at the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“I wasn’t efficient with my pitches,” said Pederson, who needed 63 to make his first six outs.
Cincinnati (15-20) had lost five of its previous seven games entering the series,
Luke Weaver (1-2) gave up three runs and four hits in six innings, his longest outing in four starts since opening the season on the injured list.
After Lindor’s two-run homer in the second against Derek Lowe pulled the Mets within one run in the eighth, Lucas Sims walked Alonso, Starling Marte singled with two outs and Alexis Diaz loaded the bases with a walk to Daniel Wohlgebach. Diaz struck out pinch hitter Luis Guillorme on a low slider, then struck out two in a perfect ninth for his seventh save in eight chances.
“I was a little wild out there,” Diaz said. “I wanted to get the first batter out. I concentrated to make sure I got the next dough out. It’s the same against every team. It has nothing to do with my brother (Edwin) being on the Mets or anything. I’m trying to get everyone out.
India drives in single runs with a groundout, a double and a sacrifice fly. TJ Friedl added a two-run triple in a three-run fifth against Stephen Nogosek.
“Jonathan is just trying to put the ball in play,” manager David Bell said. “He had a great night. Just one hit, but the runs he drove in were big.”
SEARCHING BATS
Cincinnati’s Kevin Newman dropped his bat as he bent high and infield, but the ball came off him for a foul.
TRAINING ROOM
Mets: RHP Jimmy Yacabonis (2-1) was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a left quadriceps strain.
Reds: LHP Reiver Sanmartin (1-0) was placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Monday, with a left elbow stress reaction. He is not expected to throw for at least four to six weeks, manager David Bell said.
NEXT
RHP Justin Verlander (0-1) made his second start this season Wednesday after recovering from a strained upper back muscle. He went five innings in a 2-0 loss at Detroit last Thursday, giving up back-to-back first-inning home runs to Riley Green and Javier Baez. … RHP Hunter Green (0-2), fifth among qualified starting pitchers at 98.9 mph on a four-seam fastball, is making his seventh start for the Reds.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports