Mets tackle Reds, attempt to hold tempo in wild-card race

Even though they didn’t play, the New York Mets continued their climb up the National League wild-card standings on Thursday.

They’ll look to remain hot and maintain no worse than a tie for the final NL wild-card spot Friday night when they host the Cincinnati Reds in the opener of a three-game series.

Left-hander Sean Manaea (11-5, 3.35 ERA) is slated to start for the Mets against Reds right-hander Fernando Cruz (3-8. 4.99), who will likely be utilized as an opener.

Both teams are coming off convincing three-game series sweeps at home. The Mets were idle Thursday after they extended their winning streak to seven games Wednesday night with an 8-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox. The Reds won their fourth straight game Thursday afternoon by edging the Houston Astros 1-0.

The off- day was a productive one for the Mets (76-64), who moved into a tie with the Atlanta Braves for the third and final NL wild-card spot by virtue of the Braves’ 3-1 loss to the Colorado Rockies on Thursday night.

The Mets have gained four games on the Braves since Aug. 29, when their winning streak began with a 3-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. New York hasn’t trailed in its last 53 innings dating back to Aug. 30.

The Mets struggled offensively after Jesse Winker’s first-inning grand slam Wednesday night, but they induced three double plays to nurse a 4-3 lead from the fourth through eighth innings before scoring four times off just one hit and five walks in the home half of the eighth.

“I just like how the guys are going about their business — there’s a sense of urgency, there’s some big plays, there’s huge at-bats,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said.

“We’re doing a lot of good things and we need to continue to do that in order to get to where we need to get.”

The Reds (68-73) have an uphill battle to get into the wild-card race, but they’ll get another chance to impact the playoff picture during a 10-game road trip that includes a makeup game against the Braves on Monday and a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins from Sept. 13-15. The Twins enter Friday a half-game ahead of the Kansas City Royals in the race for the second American League wild-card berth.

Cincinnati’s winning streak began with a 4-3, 11-inning walk-off win over the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday. The Reds then never trailed in the three victories against the AL West-leading Astros, who hadn’t been swept since they dropped three straight to the Chicago Cubs from April 23-25.

Rhett Lowder, making just his second career start, allowed four hits over 6 1/3 innings Wednesday for the Reds, who earned the 1-0 win when Ty France homered in the bottom of the seventh.

“To do it against that team and against that lineup, it’s a great experience for him,” Reds manager David Bell said of Lowder.

Manaea earned the win in his most recent start Sunday, when he allowed two hits over seven scoreless innings as the Mets beat the Chicago White Sox 2-0. He is 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA in three career games (two starts) against the Reds. Manaea was the winning pitcher April 7, when he gave up one run over five innings as the Mets beat Cincinnati 3-1.

Cruz didn’t factor into the decision Saturday when he tossed two scoreless innings as the opener in the Reds’ 5-4 loss to the Brewers. He is 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA in two relief appearances against the Mets. Cruz took the loss April 5 after allowing one run in one inning as the Reds fell to New York 3-2.

–Field Level Media