Duda, Bay Power Mets To 10-9 Win, 4-Game Sweep Of Reds
CINCINNATI (AP) -- For a team that appeared "drained" to manager Terry Collins, the New York Mets look surprisingly spry.
Lucas Duda and Jason Bay each drove in three runs with bases-loaded doubles and the Mets held off the reeling Reds for a 10-9 victory Thursday that gave New York its first ever four-game sweep in Cincinnati -- the last two after slugger Carlos Beltran was traded to San Francisco.
"The last two games speaks volumes about these guys," said Collins, who watched his team weather weeks of speculation about Beltran. "I can't say enough about the job they've done. ... They were drained. They were wiped out physically. They were wiped out mentally. They were playing strictly on nothing but game adrenaline."
It went a long way.
David Wright and Daniel Murphy both completed a red-hot series, helping the Mets score 26 runs over the last three games, and Chris Capuano (9-10) snapped a three-start losing streak.
Wright went 3 for 5 to extend his hitting streak to seven games (15 for 33, .455) since coming off the disabled list on July 22. He was 9 for 19 with five RBIs in the series.
Murphy, who went into the game ranked third in the NL with a .319 average, went 1 for 3 and scored three runs to finish the series 10 for 17 with five RBIs.
Bay finished with three hits and said the Mets have gone through so much adversity this season that Beltran's trade, which became official less than an hour before Thursday's first pitch, was just another speed bump.
"I'm sure you guys had questions," said Bay, who was part of trade-deadline deals in 2002 and 2008. "We did, too. It's nice to have a chance to deal with reality instead of focusing on the what ifs."
Capuano allowed eight hits and six runs with three walks and four strikeouts in 5 1-3 innings. He also had a wild pitch. Jason Isringhausen earned his fourth save despite allowing Joey Votto's 16th homer of the season leading off the ninth.
The Reds also got a pinch-hit, three-run homer from Miguel Cairo, but it wasn't enough to keep the defending Central Division champions from falling five games below .500 for the first time since finishing the 2009 season with a 78-84 record.
"We stink right now," Cairo said. "We have to start playing like we know how and we're not doing that right now. We're not doing the little things. Everyone on this team has to do better than we are right now."
Wright drove in Murphy from second with a single to give New York a 1-0 lead in the first. Drew Stubbs led off the bottom of the first with a walk, and the Reds grabbed a 2-1 lead with back-to-back one-out doubles by Votto and Brandon Phillips.
Duda, expected to get most of the playing time in right field following Beltran's trade, gave the Mets a 4-2 lead with a three-run double down the right-field line with one out in the fourth inning after Bay struck out. Josh Thole followed with an RBI single to right.
Duda, who homered in New York's 8-2 win on Wednesday, hasn't surprised Collins with the smooth transition.
"He hasn't shown me anything more than what I thought he had," Collins said. "I knew he had it in him. He's a dangerous offensive player."
One inning later, it was Bay's turn to deliver a three-run double up the right-center field gap as New York scored four runs for the second consecutive inning and opened a 9-3 lead. Bay had gone 0 for 8 in the previous two games.
Bay's shot knocked Cincinnati starter Homer Bailey out of the game. Bailey (5-5), who'd won his last two starts, set a career high by allowing nine earned runs. The Mets collected 12 hits with two walks and two strikeouts against the right-hander, who faced five batters without getting an out in the fifth.
The Reds knocked Capuano out of the game during a four-run sixth, three on Cairo's homer off reliever Manny Acosta. They added a run in the seventh on back-to-back doubles by Chris Heisey and Jay Bruce.
Notes: The trade of Beltran to the Giants for minor league pitching prospect Zack Wheeler became official at 11:40 a.m. EDT. The Mets recalled C Mike Nickeas from Triple-A Buffalo to fill Beltran's roster spot. ... Johan Santana pitched three scoreless innings in his first rehab outing for Class-A St. Lucie. He allowed two hits, no walks, recorded three strikeouts and hit one batter. Santana threw 33 pitches, 26 for strikes. ... Votto is 6 for 13 with two doubles and three home runs in three games since getting a day off, except to pinch-hit, on Monday. ... Reds 2B Brandon Phillips needs one RBI to reach 500 for his career. ... The Mets' second 10-game road trip of the season continues Friday with the start of a three-game series at Florida. ... The Reds hit eight doubles in a game for the first time since Aug. 26, 2001, at Montreal.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
