New York @ Cincinnati preview

Last Meeting ( May 4, 2010 ) NY Mets 5, Cincinnati 4

Having snapped their three-game losing streak courtesy of catcher Rod Barajas’ ninth inning homer on Tuesday night, the New York Mets will look to end their six-game road trip on a positive note when they complete their three-game series with the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday.

The Mets (15-12) will send young lefty Jonathon Niese to the mound in hopes of him continuing his fine pitching of late. The 22-year-old Niese (1-1, 3.10 ERA) was masterful in his last outing against the rival Philadelphia Phillies, pitching seven solid innings, allowing just one earned run on four hits while striking out seven. In Niese’s last three starts, he has given up a total of two earned runs. He’s been very solid in his first full season in the big leagues.

Wednesday will be the first time that Niese has faced the Reds in his brief major league career.

The Reds (13-14) will hope that young righty Johnny Cueto (1-1, 5.33 ERA) gets going in the right direction. The 24-year-old Cueto was supposed to have a breakthrough season in 2010, but he’s had a tough go of it over the first five starts of the season, surrendering 31 hits in 27 innings.

Cueto did earn a win in his last start against the St. Louis Cardinals, allowing two earned runs over five innings. Cueto has not pitched into the seventh inning in any of his starts this season, so the Reds will look to see if Cueto can finally give them some depth and become less taxing on their bullpen.

Cueto has also not fared well against the Mets in his brief career, posting an 0-2 mark with a gaudy 9.60 ERA against New York.

Luis Castillo is batting .600 against Cueto with two RBIs, while Jeff Francoeur is hitting .400 with two RBIs against the righty.

Both teams have to like what they have received from their respective bullpens this season. It was believed to be an Achilles heel for both squads, but the Mets have the fourth best ERA among MLB bullpens (2.60) - and that includes the usually reliable Fernando Nieve giving up two earned runs to the Reds on Tuesday night, courtesy of a two-run homer by Joey Votto.

Reds reliever Nick Masset, who has three wins already, has struck out 22 batters in just 13 innings this season. And although Francisco Cordero gave up the game-winning homer to Barajas Tuesday night, he is among the NL leaders in saves with 10.

The Reds have amazingly earned eight of their 13 wins this season in their final at-bat and Tuesday night was the first time they lost a game all season after entering the ninth inning with a lead.

Both teams have the day off Thursday and begin home series on Friday. The Reds will welcome the Chicago Cubs for three games, while the Mets play host to the San Francisco Giants for three games.