CINCINNATI — A carousel of relievers have kept the Mets afloat since the All-Star break, but what the team needed more than anything Wednesday was a quality start from a pitcher.
Marcus Stroman (or was it Marcus Yeoman?) went above and beyond, with maybe his best performance since the Mets acquired him two years ago. The right-hander dominated for eight shutout innings in which he surrendered only one hit, allowing an almost complete day off for the bullpen in a 7-0 victory over the Reds at Great American Ball Park.
The Mets won two of three games in the series and finished their road trip 3-3 — a strong rebound after losing two straight in Pittsburgh to begin the second half. Three homers on Wednesday (including a grand slam from Dominic Smith) propelled the offense. The Mets finished with 11 homers in the series.
Stroman allowed only a third-inning leadoff single to Aristides Aquino. He finished at 90 pitches, with seven strikeouts and one walk, before Jeurys Familia mopped up in the ninth.
“This probably feels the best because of the situation we were in with the bullpen,” Stroman said. “I think it was a key, whether it was me out there or whoever, to go deep into the game.”
The Mets had received five innings combined from their starting pitchers in their previous three games. That included a one-third of an inning stint by Taijuan Walker on Sunday in Pittsburgh. Robert Stock gave the Mets one inning Tuesday before he was removed with a right hamstring injury.
“It’s been a struggle for our bullpen, a lot of guys being used over the past few days,” Stroman said. “So any time I can give them time to relax, especially going into the off day, I think that’s awesome and we’ll see those guys be a lot fresher on Friday.”
Stroman was asked if he considered the complete game and pushed to remain in for the ninth.
“Next question,” he said.
Manager Luis Rojas said he wanted to play it safe with Stroman after eight innings, especially given the hits the Mets have taken to their starting rotation, most recently when Jacob deGrom was placed on the injured list.
“We were debating whether or not to go back with [Stroman], but he was sweating and everything we’ve just dealt with, we felt Familia was fresh, so why not the eight and the one for Familia?” Rojas said. “But he was outstanding: strikes, the same Stro that we know and needed.”
In his previous four starts, Stroman had pitched to a 5.00 ERA and hadn’t lasted beyond the fifth inning.
“It just goes to show how [Stroman] has been for us this whole first half, he’s been tremendous,” Smith said. “He’s been really good, just bouncing back from tough outings and at the same time picking us up when we most need it. That’s why he is here and he’s a bulldog and a competitor.”
Smith’s grand slam in the third against Jeff Hoffman gave Stroman a comfortable cushion. Hoffman, thinking he had produced a fly to left field, pointed skyward, but Smith’s ball kept carrying into the seats for the Mets’ second grand slam of the season (Francisco Lindor owns the other).
Luis Guillorme’s homer in the sixth — the Mets’ third of the game — extended the lead to 7-0. Tomas Nido doubled before Guillorme, who has received the majority of action at shortstop following Lindor’s oblique strain, cleared the right-field fence for his first homer of the season and second of his career.
Jonathan Villar’s homer in the second got the Mets started. The homer was Villar’s 10th of the season, placing him in double digits among Mets players with Pete Alonso, Smith and Lindor.
“Good win before the day off — they are always great,” Rojas said. “We go to a weekend series with the Blue Jays and we have to carry that offense to beat them as well.”