Starting pitching is supposed to separate the Mets from the Giants and the Cubs in the National League wild-card race.
But Rick Reed, one of the team’s most reliable starters, is struggling, and that’s trouble for a team trying to reach the postseason.
Reed was hit hard again on Tuesday night in the Mets’ 7-3 loss to the San Francisco Giants. It was the third consecutive loss for the Mets, who lead the Cubs and Giants by a game in the wild-card race with eight games left on this West Coast trip. The Mets have 30 games remaining–only nine at Shea Stadium.
Reed (15-8) could not hold the three-run lead Mike Piazza had given him with a first-inning home run. Reed allowed two homers among his seven runs in five-plus innings, and was outpitched by right-hander Russ Ortiz (2-3), who has two major-league victories–both against New York in the last three weeks.
Piazza’s home run was his third in the last six days and his 24th of the season. It followed an error by former Met Jeff Kent, whose misplay on a hard-hit John Olerud grounder turned a potential inning-ending double play into a big rally.
Barry Bonds–the first player in major-league history to record 400 homers to go with 400 stolen bases–launched No. 401 to deep right-center in the bottom of the first to make the score 3-1.
Marvin Benard doubled home a run in the third with a little help from Todd Hundley, who bobbled the ball in left-center. Then Ellis Burks drove home the tying run in the fourth with a sacrifice fly after back-to-back singles from Kent and Charlie Hayes.
In the fifth, the Giants took the lead on Kent’s sacrifice fly, which followed an infield single by Benard that Reed could not come up with along the first-base line, a hit batsman (Rich Aurilia) and a Bonds groundout.
On Reed’s first pitch in the sixth, Burks launched his 18th homer of the season for a 5-3 lead. After allowing singles to Bill Mueller and Brian Johnson, Reed bounced a throw to first on an Ortiz sacrifice, second baseman Carlos Baerga could not come up with it, the bases were loaded and Reed was headed for the showers.
Benard greeted left-hander Dennis Cook with a sacrifice fly for a 6-3 lead. Then, Cook walked Aurilia to load the bases for Bonds, who lined a hard single to right to complete the scoring. Reed was charged with 10 hits and seven runs.
