If there’s anyone the Mets can count on to put a ball in play, it’s Jose Iglesias.
Iglesias broke up a no-hitter with an opposite-field double off of Cincinnati Reds right-hander Jakob Junis with two outs in the fifth Saturday at Citi Field. But it was Harrison Bader who had the hero home-run, taking left-hander Sam Moll deep to lead off the sixth.
The Mets extended their season-high winning streak to nine with a 4-0 win over the Reds to win their fourth series in a row.
Moll replaced Junis in the sixth and the Mets wasted no time in getting to Moll (3-2). Bader drove the second pitch he threw into right-center field, Francisco Lindor drew a walk to extend his on-base streak to 35 games, and Moll hit Brandon Nimmo to put two on with none out.
With the red-hot Mark Vientos hitting behind Nimmo, the Reds played the matchups and brought in a right-hander. Vientos has better splits against left-handed pitching, so Cincinnati called on right-hander Carson Spiers.
It almost looked like the right decision.
Spiers got Vientos to pop up to second baseman Jonathan India on the infield fly rule, but then Pete Alonso continued the rally with an RBI single up the center. J.D. Martinez broke the game open with a bases-clearing line-drive double to left field, a rare extra-base hit to the pull-side for a slugger who has made a living with opposite-field power.
Nimmo and Alonso scored to give the Mets a 4-0 lead.
Jose Quintana shut the Reds out over 6 2/3 innings, scattering five hits, walking two and striking out six in the win (8-9). He kept the ball on the ground and induced weak contact, receiving solid help from the defenders behind him. The Reds grounded into two double plays, with Lindor starting one in the third with a difficult — but dazzling — backhanded catch at the dirt.
Quintana has had an up-and-down season with his ERA ballooning to 5.29 in June before coming down to 3.89 at the end of July. The veteran lefty then slumped again, losing four of his next five decisions and lasting only four innings in a start against the lowly Oakland A’s in between.
Throughout the season, the Mets (78-64) have faced questions about whether or not they would keep the 35-year-old in the rotation. They never veered in their belief that they would have to replace him, at least not publicly. The Mets have shown a willingness to part with scuffling veterans, even if it means eating the cost.
Still, they stuck with Quintana when they could have moved right-hander Jose Butto from the bullpen or called up right-hander Tylor Megill from Triple-A. Quintana has repaid that belief by allowing only one earned run (two runs total) over his last 18 innings (0.50 ERA in three starts).
Adam Ottavino, Danny Young and Edwin Diaz got the Mets over the finish line, with Diaz holding the Reds (68-75) scoreless in the ninth to work his fifth-straight scoreless frame. He put two on with one out, but the closer quickly retired Rece Hinds and Santiago Espinal to strand the runners.