Cincinnati @ New York preview
Citi Field
Last Meeting ( Sep 25, 2013 ) NY Mets 1, Cincinnati 0
The Cincinnati Reds have three relievers on the 15-day disabled list, but their injury woes pale in comparison to the early ineptitude of the New York Mets’ bullpen. The Reds, who hit the road for the first of three games against the Mets on Friday, lost closer Aroldis Chapman indefinitely in spring training after he was hit in the face with a line drive. He joined Jonathan Broxton and Sean Marshall on the DL, each of whom is making their way back from a serious injury in 2013.
Despite the uncertainty in its relief corps, Cincinnati pitchers managed to hold St. Louis to one run over the first two games of their opening series before dropping the rubber match 7-6 on Thursday. New York also lost closer Bobby Parnell on Opening Day with a torn medial collateral ligament, but whereas the Reds’ bullpen managed a 3.12 ERA against St. Louis, the Mets’ relievers were pounded for 11 runs over 9 1/3 innings. Unsurprisingly, New York was swept at home by Washington and fell to 0-3 for the first time since 2005.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Ohio (Cincinnati), SNY (New York)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Reds RH Mike Leake (2013: 14-7, 3.37 ERA) vs. Mets RH Jenrry Mejia (2013: 1-2, 2.30)
Leake enjoyed the finest of his four major-league seasons in 2013, setting career highs in innings (192 1/3) and wins while posting a career-low ERA. The No. 8 overall pick of the 2009 draft excelled from May through July when he went 9-3 with a 2.11 ERA, but was far less effective in the other three months. Leake is 2-2 with a 2.25 ERA in six all-time starts against the Mets and was particularly sharp against them in his only turn at Citi Field last year, when he allowed three hits over seven scoreless frames to get the win.
Despite a right forearm contusion and a bunion on his right foot, Mejia earned a job in the rotation over Daisuke Matsuzaka after recording a 2.70 ERA in the spring. The 24-year-old impressed in five outings with the Mets last year, registering a 27:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio before bone chips in his right elbow forced him to undergo season-ending surgery in late August. Mejia has not faced the Reds since May 2010, when he tossed a pair of scoreless frames in relief.
WALK-OFFS
1. Gonzalez Germen’s scoreless ninth inning in Thursday’s loss ended a stretch in which eight straight Mets’ relievers surrendered at least one earned run.
2. Cincinnati is 7-1 on the road over its last eight road games in this series and 12-5 all-time at Citi Field.
3. New York has dropped its last 32 contests at home in which it has surrendered at least five runs.
PREDICTION: Reds 6, Mets 3