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Sep 5, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto (22) steals third base against the Cincinnati Reds in the first inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

INSTANT REACTION: Reds Leave Bases Loaded in Ninth, Lose to Mets 5-4

Originally posted on Cincinnati Reds on SI
By Alex Frank | Last updated Sep 5, 2025 10:09 PM ET

CINCINNATI -- They've done it. The Reds have fallen to under .500 for the first time since early June with a 5-4 loss to the New York Mets Friday night.

If something can go wrong, it will go wrong for this Reds team. Friday night, they had the bases loaded and nobody out down 5-4 in the bottom of the ninth. No outs. One run needed. Noelvi Marte, Elly De La Cruz and Gavin Lux due up. Surely one of them would come through.

Strikeout swining. Strikeout looking. Groundout. Game over. Season over. What a disappointment.

This is embarassing. Reds fans thought Terry Francona was going to come in and get this Reds team to contention. What he has accomplished, though, is shining an even brighter light on the Reds front office.

The Reds organization is in a place I can't even begin to explain. What's the plan? That's another unknown element, and that's not a good thing.

This season has gone from bad to worse at the worst possible time.

Andrew Abbott Struggles Again

It's really puzzling at this point why Abbott simply hasn't been the same since the All-Star Break. He's only one of his nine starts in the second half of the regular season and hasn't been the ace he was through the first half of the season.

Friday night, Abbott allowed five earned runs on nine hits in just 4 2/3 innings pitched. That included three runs in the first inning. He threw 64 of his 98 for stirkes, but Abbott was still knocked around hard Friday night.

Notes And Observations

Tyler Stephenson played in his first game back since August 15th.
The Reds went 1-7 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners on base.
New York went 3-10 and left nine runners in scoring position.
Cincinnati is now 3-11 in its last 14 games.
The Reds are now six games out of the third NL Wild Card

Scoring Summary

Top 1st
NYM: Mark Vientos RBI single (Mets lead 1-0)
NYM: Brandon Nimmo RBI sacrafice fly (Mets lead 2-0)
NYM: Starling Marte RBI single (Mets lead 3-0)

Top 3rd
NYM: Mark Vientos solo home run (16) (Mets lead 4-0)

Bottom 3rd
CIN: Noelvi Marte RBI sacrafice fly (Mets lead 4-1)

Top 4th
NYM: Juan Soto RBI double (Mets lead 5-1)

Bottom 4th
CIN: Tyler Stephenson two-run double (Mets lead 5-3)
CIN: Ke'Bryan Hayes RBI sacrafice fly (Mets lead 5-4)

On Deck

The Reds and Mets continue their series Saturday night from Great American Ball Park.

Reds right-hander Brady Singer (12-9, 4.08 ERA) will start against Mets right-hander Jonah Tong (1-0, 1.80 ERA).

First pitch is at 6:40 E.T. on FanDuel Sports Network Cincinnati and 700WLW.

A statue of Reds Hall of Fame and Baseball Hall of Fame broadcaster Marty Brennaman, who was the Voice of the Reds for 46 years, will be unveiled before the game Saturday.

This article first appeared on Cincinnati Reds on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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