SERIES PREVIEW: Cincinnati Reds Head to New York for Crucial Series against the Mets

CINCINNATI -- Every game in the 162-game Major League Baseball season counts the same. But once the season resumes after the All-Star Break, the games count a little more.

The Pennant Race is officially underway. It's been underway since July 1st. But now, every contending team in Major League Baseball feels it.

The Reds are right in the thick of the pennant race, sitting just outside the National League Playoff Picture at 50-47. That's 2.5 games out of the third Wild Card spot in the NL, currently held by the San Diego Padres.

This weekend, the Reds are in New York to take on the Mets. Let's look at this weekend's upcoming series in this edition of the Series Preview.

The Mets are 55-42 this season, just a half-game behind the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East. They also hold the second National League Wild Card berth going into the second half of the regular season, and it would be their second straight postseason berth after taking the eventual World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers to six games in the National League Championship Series in 2024.

New York has been a hot-and-cold team over the last two and a half months. They went 15-12 in May but 12-15 in June, and they are 7-5 in July. That's all after going 19-8 in April.

They were in first place in the NL East by 5.5 games on June 12th. Since then, though, the Mets are just 10-18. This is a team that has both winning and losing streaks of seven games this season, shutting out opponents seven times but also being shut out five times themselves. The Mets also have 22 comeback wins but 18 blown leads, and they have six walkoff wins but also six walkoff losses.

One thing the Mets do though, is play well at home. They are 33-14 at Citi Field this season. Their most recent home stand was the week of the Fourth of July, and they took two out of three against both the Milwaukee Brewers and the New York Yankees.

The Mets enter the second half of the regular season off a 3-3 road trip at the Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals.

Statistically, the Mets are a power-hitting team. They are fourth in the National League with 124 home runs, with first baseman Pete Alonso leading the club with 34 on the season. In addition, the Mets are middle-of-the-pack in the NL in runs scored and RBIs, with shortstop Francisco Lindor leading the club with 107 runs scored and 91 RBIs.

Pitching is the strength of this Mets team. They are second in the National League with a 3.56 team ERA. Their top five pitchers in innings pitched all have at least five wins. Their bullpen is also strong, with close Edwin Diaz saving 19 games in the first half of the regular season to earn an All-Star selection.

This will be the first series between the Reds and Mets this season, with the second series coming in Cincinnati on September 5-7.

Pitching Matchups

Friday: Nick Lodolo (6-6, 3.38 ERA) vs. Sean Manaea (0-1, 2.70 ERA) - 7:10 E.T.
Saturday: Nick Martinez (6-9, 4.85 ERA) vs. TBD - 4:10 E.T.
Sunday: Andrew Abbott (8-1, 2.07 ERA) vs. TBD - 1:40 E.T.

Abbott is coming off a perfect sixth inning in the All-Star Game Tuesday night in Atlanta, and Lodolo and Martinez are both coming off wins in their previous starts, respectively.

The Mets have yet to name starting pitchers for Saturday and Sunday at the time this story was published.

All three games this weekend can be viewed on FanDuel Sports Network Cincinnati and heard on 700WLW.

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