A series sweep was within reach for the Cincinnati Reds, and it would have been a vital gain ahead of a challenging back stretch in the month of June.
Already trailing the New York Mets 3-1 in the teams’ June 17 series finale at Great American Ball Park, chances of a sweep dissipated in the fifth inning. The Mets padded their lead with a four-run inning, knocking Reds starter Nick Lodolo out after 4⅔ innings after tagging him with 11 hits, two walks and seven runs.
“I wasn’t getting any swing-and-miss there,” Lodolo said.
Meanwhile, the Mets’ Nolan McLean (4-4) allowed just three hits and a run in seven innings. His outing, plus the Mets’ offensive outburst, made for a comfortable, 9-1 Mets win in the series finale.
Juan Soto (3-for-5), Mark Vientos (1-for-4) and Greater Cincinnati product AJ Ewing each drove in two runs to lead the Mets at the plate. Bo Bichette also had three hits (3-for-4, three runs) and one RBI. Twelve of New York’s 15 hits were singles.
The Reds won the three-game set, as well as the season series against the Mets (4-2), but dropped to 35-38 ahead of a trip to play the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. That quick three-game road trip is followed by 10 straight games against the Milwaukee Brewers (home June 22-24, away June 29-July 2) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (away June 26-28) as Cincinnati looks to improve on its 2-13 record against National League Central opposition.
In what might have been the most important performance of the game for the Reds, converted reliever Chris Paddack covered the final 4 1/3 innings. He gave the Reds’ hitters a window to narrow their deficit as the Mets didn’t add more insurance until the eighth inning. At that point and with the score 9-1, Paddack served to insulate the rest of Cincinnati’s bullpen from in-game work.
Sal Stewart, Matt McLain, Jose Trevino, Nathaniel Lowe and Noelvi Marte had one hit apiece for the Reds.
After the Mets took a 3-0 lead in the top of the third inning, the Reds loaded the bases with one out in the bottom half of the frame. JJ Bleday clawed one run back via an eventual sacrifice fly, but it wasn’t a routine play as Ewing, a Springboro native, made a diving catch. That likely prevented multiple runs from crossing as opposed to the lone one the Reds managed.
Reds manager Terry Francona noted that was a key momentum swing in the game.
“They score three. We had one, but that (Bleday) ball, if that kid doesn’t make that play …,” Francona said. “That was a big turning point for them.”
Next up for the Reds | Yankees, NL Central looming
The Yankees (44-27) entered play June 17 leading the American League East while Milwaukee (44-26) started the day with a 4.5-game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central. Pittsburgh (37-37) started the day one game ahead of Cincinnati in the Central race.
Cincinnati is scheduled to have arguably its best pitchers start all three games at Yankee Stadium with Rhett Lowder (3-3, 4.60 ERA), Andrew Abbott (4-4, 3.95 ERA) and Chase Burns (8-1, 2.01 ERA) in line for June 19, June 20 and June 21, respectively.
Burns on June 24, 2025, made his MLB debut against the Yankees.
Yankees slugger Aaron Judge (stress fracture, ribs) won’t play in the series against the Reds. His injured list (IL) stint is backdated to June 2 and MLB.com lists his expected return as “possibly August.”
Judge’s absence isn’t holding New York back too much, though. The Yankees were 8-2 in their last 10 games entering play on June 17.
Springboro product breaks through with series-finale hit
Ewing, the Mets’ center fielder and a product of Springboro High School, notched his first Great American Ball Park hit in the series finale, doubling in two runs off Lodolo. That, in addition to his diving catch in the third inning, made the game a memorable one for him.
He had a fitting end to his series back in his home region as the 21-year-old rookie went a combined 0-for-7 with two walks over the first two games of the series.
Ewing finished the set 1-for-11 with the two RBIs and two walks, plus what might be considered the defensive play of the entire series.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reds drops series finale to Mets ahead of trip to face NY Yankees
Reporting by Pat Brennan, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
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By Pat Brennan, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
