Spencer Steer, Reds aim for series win vs. Mets

Spencer Steer credited the Cincinnati Reds' ability to put the ball in play for their latest comeback win.

Players such as Steer hitting the ball a long way also helps.

The Reds will look to earn another series win Sunday afternoon when they host the struggling New York Mets in the finale of a three-game set.

Cincinnati's Andrew Abbott (0-0, 3.38 ERA) is slated to start against Sean Manaea (0-0, 0.00) in a battle of left-handers.

Steer hit a three-run homer to highlight a five-run go-ahead rally in the eighth inning of a 9-6 victory on Saturday.

Steer's second late-inning, go-ahead homer of the season gave Cincinnati its third comeback win.

The Reds mounted their first comeback win on March 31, when they trailed by two runs entering the ninth inning before Jonathan India doubled and Will Benson and Christian Encarnacion-Strand hit back-to-back homers to give the hosts a 6-5 walk-off win over the Washington Nationals.

The next night, Steer hit a 10th-inning grand slam in a 6-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

On Saturday, Elly De La Cruz tied the game with a check-swing RBI single three pitches before Steer hit the tie-breaking homer.

"Good things happen when you put the ball in play," Steer said. "We were putting together good at-bats all day. At the end, we stringed a lot of good ones together."

The Mets haven't been able to string much together during a 2-6 start -- their worst record through eight games since opening 2-6 in 2010. One of those wins came in the series opener on Friday, a 3-2 victory.

New York ranks last in the National League with 22 runs and a .185 batting average.

The Mets, who scored as many as four runs just once in their first seven games of the season, collected five runs in the fourth inning Saturday. Omar Narvaez had a two-run single, Brandon Nimmo followed with a two-run double and Tyrone Taylor had an RBI double.

But a series of mistakes by New York allowed the Reds to build their comeback. Steer pulled the Reds within 5-4 when he raced home on a delayed double steal in the sixth after Narvaez threw to second to try to nab Stuart Fairchild. In the eighth, Yohan Ramirez was charged with a balk and a wild pitch while issuing two walks.

"In the beginning of the game, we did everything right," Narvaez told Newsday. "By the end, we couldn't finish."

Neither Abbott nor Manaea factored into the decision in their season debuts Monday.

Abbott gave up two runs over 5 1/3 innings in the Reds' 6-3, 10-inning win over the Phillies. Manaea allowed one hit over six scoreless innings in the Mets' 5-0, 10-inning loss to the Detroit Tigers.

Abbott has one career start against the Mets, coming last Sept. 16, when he allowed two runs over 3 2/3 innings in the Reds' 3-2 win.

Manaea is 1-0 with a 3.24 ERA in two appearances (one start) against the Reds.