CINCINNATI — The Mets’ bats remain as cold as the early April weather, which means they needed to play nearly flawlessly in all other phases of the game to win.
And that’s what they did, riding a mostly solid defensive night and especially clutch pitching to escape with a 3-2 victory over the Reds at Great American Ball Park on Friday, when the young Reds were burned more by their own mistakes.
Jose Quintana was solid, the Mets’ bullpen posted 3 ¹/₃ nerve-racking but one-run innings and Brett Baty played one of his best all-around games as a pro, which enabled the Mets to scratch by on a night they finished with just four hits.
The Mets (2-5) have scored 15 runs in their first seven games, the offense a continuing problem.
But Jeff McNeil may have broken through with an eighth-inning homer, and the Mets played better defense than their counterparts.
The Mets’ go-ahead run came in the seventh inning against reliever Fernando Cruz, who issued three walks to load the bases with one out for Pete Alonso.
The slugger hit a chopper up the middle that should have been an inning-ending double play, but Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz could not get the ball out of his glove and tossed too late to second base.
Francisco Lindor beat the throw, enabling Harrison Bader to give the Mets their first lead of the game.
The Reds found their way into danger, while the Mets kept pitching and fielding their way out.
In the ninth, the Reds put the tying runners on base on an error from Edwin Diaz, who couldn’t come up with a check-swing comebacker from Jonathan India and a walk to Spencer Steer.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand hit a grounder to Lindor, who did not flip to McNeil but instead ran to second base — and was beaten there by pinch-runner Bubba Thompson, the Mets only recording one out on the play.
The Reds proceeded to score one off Diaz, but he struck out Jake Fraley to strand the tying run on third.
Such was the theme for the Mets.
In the sixth, the Reds knocked out Quintana, Drew Smith entering with two on and two out. Smith induced a pop-up from Luke Maile to get out of the jam.
An inning later, Smith put two runners on with two outs and was pulled for Brooks Raley, who issued a walk to load the bases for De La Cruz.
But Raley, too, played magician and dotted an outside sweeper, getting De La Cruz looking for the final out of the inning.
Adam Ottavino and Diaz handled the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, preserving one of Baty’s best games as a Met.
As a batter, the cleanup hitter singled twice on a 2-for-4 night, collecting half the Mets’ hits.
But his glove — a persistent question for the 24-year-old — was stronger than his bat.
Twice Baty saved Quintana, the first time in the fifth inning of a tie game.
With two on and none out, Steer blasted a Quintana curveball that looked destined to be an extra-base hit that would score at least one run.
But Baty, a unique third baseman at 6-foot-3, used all of his height to speer the liner out of the air. After Quintana escaped the inning, a pumped-up Baty clapped upon entering the dugout.
An inning later, Baty showed off his mobility.
De La Cruz hit a soft grounder to the left side that prompted Baty to cut in front of Lindor, grab it and fire quickly to first base just ahead of the speedy young star.
The Mets did little against fireballer Hunter Greene, who only allowed a run on a sacrifice fly from Lindor in the fifth inning.
