Cincinnati, OH – Mike Leake tossed his second complete game of the season, Scott Rolen and Todd Frazier hit back-to-back homers, and the Cincinnati Reds downed the New York Mets, 6-1, on Wednesday.
Cincinnati was coming off consecutive shutout victories and Leake (5-7) stretched the club's scoreless innings streak to 28 by retiring the first nine batters he faced.
In all, the 24-year-old righty gave up four hits, struck out four and did not issue a walk. He added an RBI single in the sixth inning.
"I was able to hit the glove a lot tonight," said Leake.
Jay Bruce led off that frame with his 24th homer of the season. Brandon Phillips and Ryan Ludwick each drove in a run for the NL Central leaders, who have won five in a row and will look for the sweep of this three-game series on Thursday.
R.A. Dickey (15-4) was charged with five runs on 10 hits, including three homers, over six innings. He walked two and struck out nine.
Mike Baxter led off the fourth inning with the Mets' first hit -- a single to the right side of the infield which bounced off the glove of a sliding Phillips. Ruben Tejada followed with a bloop single to shallow right before Baxter crossed the plate on Daniel Murphy's double-play groundout.
New York has dropped seven of its last nine games.
"We haven't done much lately and I'm gonna find some guys," said Mets manager Terry Collins. "Maybe it's time for some breaks for some guys."
Zack Cozart doubled twice and scored on Phillips' first-inning single for a 1-0 lead.
Bruce led off the fourth with a base hit, but was promptly picked off. Rolen, who missed the previous five games with a balky back, then sent the next offering from Dickey -- a fastball -- down the left-field line and into the seats.
"(Dickey) throws about 84 (miles per hour), which is about my bat speed," joked Rolen. "Anything over 90, I struggle with."
Two pitches later, Frazier uncorked a blast to center, making it 3-1.
The homer, which was estimated at 474 feet, extended the rookie's hit streak to six games. He finished 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored.
In the seventh, Ludwick plated Drew Stubbs with a base hit off of Jeremy Hefner to cap the scoring.
Game Notes
It was Leake's second career complete game. The other came on June 29 against the Giants ... Frazier leads NL rookies with 49 RBI this season ... The last time Dickey gave up five earned runs was in a no-decision against the Atlanta Braves on July 14 ... Earlier Wednesday, the Mets activated catcher Kelly Shoppach and optioned catcher Rob Johnson to Triple-A Buffalo. Shoppach was acquired in a trade with Boston on Tuesday.
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