Game #117: Reds 6, Mets 1

(NYDailyNews.com)

On the day Felix Hernandez tossed the 23rd perfect game in baseball history, New York did its best to make Mike Leake look just as untouchable.

Leake tossed a complete game and didn't allow an RBI as R.A. Dickey was less than superhuman and the Mets fell to the Reds 6-1.

The Bad Stuff:

• A guy with a 4-7 record and an ERA hovering just under 5.00, Mike Leake, looked like a Cy Young contender on the mound at Great American Ballpark, pitching a complete game and allowing just 1 run on 4 hits, walking none, and striking out 4 while facing just 30 Met hitters. The only run he allowed was in the 4th inning when, with runners on first and third, Daniel Murphy grounded into a double play which scored one but killed a potential rally.
• On the other side of the mound, R.A. Dickey was off his A-game, allowing 5 runs on 10 hits in 6 innings, including 3 solo home runs (back-to-back to Scott Rolen and Todd Frazier in the 4th).
• The 3-9 hitters for the Mets went a combined 0-22.

The Good Stuff:

• Mike Baxter and Ruben Tejada had the only hits on the day for New York, each going 2-4 (all singles) with Baxter scoring the team's only run on Murphy's double play.
• Dickey still struck out 9 batters over his 6 innings, keeping him near the top of the NL K-list.

Final Analysis:
Um...ouch. Definitely not the most fun of games to be at. There were pluses, of course (seeing King Felix's perfect game on the big scoreboard, getting Justin Turner to sign my baseball card - what a guy!), but on the field the team just looked lethargic and uninspired. Another bad sign: as Jordany Valdespin was warming up with the Reds' batboy in one of the later innings, the batboy tossed one he couldn't get there. Valdespin wanted Andres Torres to trot over to get the ball for him...Torres ignored him. Uh-oh.

But, the beauty of baseball: there's always another game. Matt Harvey will go on the hill and give the Mets a chance to get out of Cincinnati with at least one W.

MM