Frazier goes deep twice as Reds down Mets

Flushing, NY – Todd Frazier homered twice, a solo shot and a two-run blast that capped a four-run eighth inning, as the Cincinnati Reds came back to down the New York Mets, 6-3, on Wednesday.

"I try to play guys in front of their home people. They play better, concentrate better," Reds manager Dusty Baker said of Frazier, who was born in New Jersey and had his family in attendance.

Cincinnati received six innings, as well as two hits and a run scored, from starter Mike Leake, while Jose Arredondo (3-1) pitched a perfect seventh for the win and Sean Marshall tossed a scoreless ninth to pick up his seventh save for the Reds, who have won three of four.

Jon Rauch (3-2) was charged with three runs in just a third of an inning to suffer the setback, as the Mets lost their third in four tries.

Rauch opened the eighth by giving up three straight hits, a pair of singles around a double, as Brandon Phillips brought home Drew Stubbs to tie the game. Tim Byrdak came in to pitch to pinch-hitter Jay Bruce, who eventually hit a long sacrifice fly.

D.J. Carrasco then entered and was greeted by Frazier, who launched Carrasco's first offering out to dead center field for a two-run shot.

"Left a slider over [the plate], too hittable of a pitch, and he drove it out of the yard," said Carrasco.

Earlier, Leake charged toward home on Zack Cozart's hit in the top of the third, sliding under Mike Nickeas' tag for the game's first run.

New York pulled into a tie a half inning later, when Lucas Duda plated Mike Baxter on a liner to left, and scored two sixth-inning runs, on an Ike Davis RBI double and Nickeas' suicide squeeze two batters later.

Frazier got the Reds within one in the seventh on an opposite-field blast into the right-field bullpen.

Game Notes

Mets starter Johan Santana, who has never lost against the Reds, allowed two runs on six hits over 6 2/3 innings...The probables for Thursday's finale of this two-game set are Cincinnati's Mat Latos against R.A. Dickey.