Rare Defensive Lapse Cost Reds It's Five-Game Winning Streak

The Reds' built a season-best seven-game lead with pitching and defense. On Thursday night they got neither.

 The Reds, who went into their series finale on Thursday against the New York Mets tied for the National League lead in fielding, committed three errors which led to three unearned runs, the difference in an 8-5 loss.

Gold Glove-winners Brandon Phillips and Scott Rolen both misplayed chances, and rookie shortstop Zack Cozart also booted a ball as the Reds saw their winning streak snapped at five games.

 "Over a 162-game season, you're going to have games like this, but the way we'd been playing lately, it's odd," Cozart said. "It was pretty sloppy."

The shaky defense and Mets rookie Matt Harvey teamed up to help New York open up an 8-1 lead. Harvey drove in one more run than he allowed in the longest outing of his short career and Ike Davis and Jason Bay hit solo home runs as the Mets avoided a three-game sweep. New York hasn't been swept in Cincinnati since 2005.

Harvey (2-3), who had lost three straight starts after winning in his major league debut, allowed one run and four hits in 7 2-3 innings. He struck out eight, walked one and hit a batter. Harvey also doubled in two runs in New York's three-run fourth inning.

Jon Rauch came on in relief of struggling Mets closer Frank Francisco and struck out pinch-hitter Wilson Valdez to end the game for his third save. Francisco allowed three runs and four hits, and got only two outs in his second straight rough outing.

The Mets took the lead in the fourth inning, scoring three times after managing a total of one run in their opening two losses to the Reds in the series.

Davis snapped the scoreless tie with his team-leading 21st homer of the season and first since July 28 at Arizona. The leadoff shot, which traveled 421 feet into the right-center field seats, was hit off Cincinnati starter Homer Bailey.

Two outs later, Bay hit a grounder up the middle that second baseman Phillips backhanded and threw over Todd Frazier's head at first base for an infield hit and a throwing error. Kelly Shoppach, making his first appearance with the Mets, was intentionally walked to get to Harvey. The big right-hander then hit a two-run double to deep left-center field that produced his first career RBIs.

The error was Phillips' first in a career-high 84 games, dating to May 6 at Pittsburgh.

Reds manager Dusty Baker wasn't concerned at that time.

"We couldn've handled 3-0," he said. "They ended up scoring five runs (after) three errors. We gave them three (unearned) runs, and that was the deficit in the ballgame. That's a big deficit to overcome."

Bay increased New York's lead to 4-0 with his sixth homer of the year and first since July 18 at Washington, with one out in the sixth inning. Shoppach reached on Rolen's error, and after Harvey's sacrifice, Ruben Tejada doubled off the left field wall and scored on Mike Baxter's single.

"It's a tough adjustment to walk a guy and then try to throw one down and away," Bailey said. "I left it over the middle. I might as well have put it on a tee for him."

Bailey (10-8) allowed eight hits and six runs, four earned, with three walks, a wild pitch and six strikeouts in 5 1-3 innings.

The Reds broke up Harvey's shutout with doubles by Phillips and Jay Bruce in the seventh.

Davis added an RBI double in the ninth, and the Mets tacked on another run on Cozart's error.

Ryan Ludwick led off the ninth with his 23rd homer of the season on the first pitch from Francisco. It extended Ludwick's hitting streak to a season-high eight games. Miguel Cairo drove in another run with a single, and Cozart knocked in one with a double.

Notes:

The Reds are 8-1-1 in the first 10 series since the All-Star Break.....Jay Bruce has hit safely in all four games since Baker rested him in Chicago.  He is 7-for-17 (.412) with three doubles, three home runs and seven RBI.  He has also scored four runs....Ryan Ludwick extended his season-high hitting streak to eight games 11-for-32 (.344) with three doubles, three home runs and eight RBI.....Zack Cozart has hit safely in 12 of his last 14 games, 18-for-61 (.295), three home runs and six RBI...Homer Bailey has 111 strikeouts. It is a new career high.  He fanned 106 last season....Todd Frazier's six-game hitting streak was snapped.  He had five multi-hit games and went 13-for-23 (.565) with three doubles, two home runs and seven RBI.

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