Flushing, NY – Wilson Valdez drove in three runs as the Cincinnati Reds took a 7-3 win over the New York Mets in the opener of a three-game series.
Brandon Phillips hit a two-run home run while Jay Bruce had an inside-the-park homer for the Reds, who have won four straight.
Bronson Arroyo (3-4) won for the first time since May 7 as he gave up just three runs on four hits with two walks and five strikeouts over six-plus innings. He had been 0-3 in his previous six starts.
"The pitching staff had been pretty consistent since the first day and our defense has been great," said Arroyo. "The only thing that you can attribute to our losses is scoring a few more runs. And know we're playing teams that are playing good and still finding ways to win, so that's a good sign for us."
Dillon Gee (4-5) was touched for four runs -- three earned -- on five hits with a walk and four strikeouts over six innings of work for the Mets, who had a three-game winning streak stopped. Scott Hairston hit a two-run home run in the loss.
The second inning saw the Reds plate two men to grab the lead. Bruce led off the frame with a fly ball to left field. Jason Bay tried to track down the ball, but it landed just out of his reach as he dove and crashed into the wall, allowing Bruce to come all the way home. Bay left the game and was replaced by Hairston, who committed an error two batters later when he misplayed a Ryan Ludwick double that saw Todd Frazier, who had singled prior to Ludwick, come home.
"He was dizzy. I asked him what he did and he said he hit his head," said New York manager Terry Collins about Bay. "I asked him if he was dizzy and he said yes so I told him he was done. He wanted to try and go back out there and I told him no, not with the past."
Cincinnati made it a 4-0 game in the third inning as Joey Votto was hit by a pitch and Phillips followed with a shot over the left-center wall for his ninth homer of the season.
The Mets had just three runners reach base through the first five innings, but got on the board in the sixth when Kirk Nieuwenhuis led off the frame with his sixth homer of the year.
The Reds, though, got it back and one more in the seventh on a two-run double from Valdez for a 6-1 advantage.
New York got back to within three in the seventh as Ike Davis led off with a single and Hairston followed with a two-run homer. Jose Arredondo came on to relieve Arroyo and set down the next three batters to get out of the inning.
Sean Marshall pitched a scoreless eighth while Valdez added an RBI single in the top of the ninth.
Aroldis Chapman retired the Mets in order in the ninth to close the game.
Game Notes
The Mets said during the game that Bay possibly suffered a concussion on the play. He had a concussion in 2010, his first season with the Mets...Phillips has 22 RBI in his last 18 games...Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker celebrated his 63rd birthday on Friday...Arroyo improved to 8-3 in 14 starts against the Mets...The Reds placed outfielder Drew Stubbs on the 15-day disabled list on Friday with a strained muscle on his left side. Valdez made his first ever start in center due to Stubbs' absence along with Chris Heisey being sidelined with a mild left groin strain.
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