The New York Mets (12-7) won their fifth game in a row tonight by defeating the Cincinnati Reds (9-12) by the final score of 4-3. For a full boxscore recap follow the link below…

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2016_04_26_cinmlb_nynmlb_1#game=2016_04_26_cinmlb_nynmlb_1,game_tab=box,game_state=Wrapup

Game Notes:

• Yoenis Cespedes came off the bench tonight and hit a game- tying pinch-hit 3-run homer in the bottom of the 7th.
• David Wright was 1-4 hitting the go-ahead RBI single in the bottom of the 7th.
• Michael Conforto who was hitting clean-up went 2-4 with a double.
• Curtis Granderson was 2-3 with a triple and scored the go-ahead run.
• Jeurys Familia picked up save number 7 with a perfect 9th inning.
• Bartolo Colon received the no-decision pitching 5 innings while allowing 3 runs on 8 hits. Colon walked only 1 batter while striking out 4. Tonight Colon became the second active pitcher this season to pitch 3,000 career innings.

What. A. Win. To be honest I did not see this coming with the way the flow of the game had been going. But as I have learned since last July, these aren’t the same old Mets. The Mets couldn’t muster much offense against Brandon Finnegan but everything changed in the magical bottom of the seventh. A Juan Lagares walk, and a Kevin Plawecki single set up the perfect scenario for a hobbled Yoenis Cespedes to come to the plate as the tying run. I originally believed Reds pitching coach Bryan Price would pull Finnegan when he ran to the mound after the Plawecki single, but he left him in to face Cespedes.  Cespedes then cracked the first pitch fastball thrown by Finnegan into left field just over the fence sending Citi Field into a frenzy. Curtis Granderson then followed that act up with a triple off of Reds reliever Tony Cingrani, with David Wright driving him in on a base hit one batter later. 

Besides Cespedes and Wright being the obvious heroes tonight, there were a couple of unsung heroes on the field tonight that kept this game within striking distance. Logan Verrett came in and gave the Mets two scoreless innings of relief in the sixth and seventh innings which helped keep the game within reach for the offense. Verrett has been such a great piece to this Mets team with his versatility of pitching out of the bullpen and in the rotation. Gary Cohen pointed out tonight that Logan Verrett is the first Mets pitcher since Joe Smith in 2008 to get wins on consecutive days.

Neil Walker’s bat did not carry the Mets tonight, but his glove certainly did. Walker helped Logan Verrett get out of a jam in the top of the sixth inning with runners on first and second with one out, and Reds pitcher Brandon Finnegan at the plate. Walker who looked to be playing the bunt instead got a sharply hit ground ball his way, and made a beautiful diving roll-over stop to his right, to turn a double play, and get Verrett out of a jam. Walker continues to do nothing but impress for the Mets in his first season.

The Mets have now won five straight games and ten of their last twelve, as they are steamrolling through opponents since the beginning of their previous nine game road trip. The Mets have also now won ten straight games in a row against the Reds dating back to 2014, which is an impressive feat in itself.  The Mets will go for win number six in a row tomorrow evening and look to add to their current win streak against the Reds. There is speculation that Yoenis Cespedes may make his return to the lineup which would be fantastic, although I won’t disagree if he rests one more game since the Mets have an off-day Thursday as well, which could give him another day of rest to heal. By the way what gives with Reds second basemen against the Mets? Mets slayer Brandon Phillips sat tonight’s game out due to his painful at-bat last night, and Ivan De Jesus Jr. stepped in and cracked a 2-run bomb to left-center tonight. Whoever is at second base tomorrow night for the Reds, we should tread lightly with (joking), especially if Phillips returns to the Reds lineup (not joking). 

• The Mets will look for their second straight sweep tomorrow evening against the Reds with first pitch slated for 7:10 pm et. Tomorrow night’s game can be seen on SNY.

• Matt Harvey (1-3, 5.24 ERA) will look to continue to move past his recent struggles as he toes the hill for the Mets against Reds right-hander Jon Moscot (0-1, 5.06 ERA).