By John Fay - Cincinnati Enquirer Staff
The Reds let one get away this afternoon, losing to the New York Mets 4-2 in extra innings.
The Reds blew big chances in the sixth, seventh and eighth. They also had two runners thrown out stealing. And they misplayed a ball that led to the go-ahead run.
The Mets scored the runs off Gary Majewski in the 10th. Majewski deserved better. Pinch-hitter Xaiver Nady lofted one into right with one out.
Second baseman Brandon Phillips looked to have a play on, but right fielder Chris Denorfia called him off, only to have the ball go off his glove for a double.
Majewski struck out Jose Reyes, but Endy Chavev doubled past third baseman Rich Aurilia to put the Mets up.
Carlos Delgado added a run with an RBI double off Kent Mercker.
Bronson Arroyo pitched a gem for the Reds: eight innings, six hits, two runs, no walks, eight strikeouts.
He gave up solo home runs in the second to Cliff Floyd and in the fourth to Carlos Delgado.
The Reds got nothing going early against Tom Glavine. But Royce Clayton and Jason LaRue led off the fifth with back-to-back singles. Arroyo sacrificed them over. Ryan Freel got them both home with a double to left-center.
The Reds wasted a fat chance in the sixth. Aurilia started the inning with a single - extending his hitting streak to a career-high 13 games. Edwin Encarnacion followed, and he missed a home run by about a foot.
As it was, the ball went off the wall in left for a double. Second and third, no outs.
Brandon Phillips grounded one to second baseman Jose Valentin. He easily threw Aurilia out at the plate. Clayton hit a little nubber in front of the plate for the second out. Arroyo bunted the first pitch back to Glavine. He flipped it home to get Encarnacion.
The Reds had another huge opportunity to take the lead in the seventh as well. Ryan Freel led off with double. Denorfia bunted him to third. Glavine then walked Adam Dunn and Aurilia back-to-back to load the bases.
That was all for Glavine. The Mets brought in right-hander Chad Bradford. The Reds countered by pinch-hitting Scott Hatteberg for Encarnacion. Hatteberg struck out. Phillips grounded out to end the inning.
Arroyo pitched out of a jam after Delgado's home run in the fourth and then proceeded to go on a roll. He retired 12 in row from the fourth to eighth.
Clayton led off the eighth with a single. LaRue bunted him over. Javier Valentin, hitting for Arroyo, grounded out, as did Freel. That meant the Reds had left a runner in scoring position in four straight innings, and were 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position in those innings.
Denorfia led off the ninth with a walk. Dunn followed and struck out. With Aurilia at the plate, Denorfia got thrown out trying to steal second.
New York second baseman Jose Valentin made a brilliant play to get the tag down. Aurilia ended up walking on the 11th pitch of his at-bat. Hatteberg struck out to end the inning.
