CINCINNATI — Right now, the Mets’ offense is consistently embarrassing.
Incredibly, the Mets were shut out for the third time in six games, falling 3-0 last night to the Reds when Jay Bruce’s walk-off, three-run homer off Josh Edgin with nobody out in the ninth inning shattered a scoreless tie.
But it was Manny Acosta who set the wheels in motion for the loss. He started the inning by walking Brandon Phillips and giving up a single to Ryan Ludwick. Edgin then entered and gave up Bruce’s opposite-field blast to left.
The Mets had a chance to take the lead in the top of the ninth. With two outs, Josh Thole walked and then moved to third on Scott Hairston’s long single off the left-field wall. Hairston stole second, but Reuben Tejada lined out to center field to end the threat.
Despite the bullpen’s struggles, the Mets’ offense was non-existent and ineffective in clutch situations. The three shutouts over the last six games were to three different teams (Reds, Braves, Marlins), and for the past 10 games the Mets have shown zero ability to consistently score or win. Consider this: In those 10 games, the Mets have scored three runs or fewer seven times and lost all seven of those games. In each of the other three games, they scored six runs and won.
“Obviously we’re not swinging the bats very good,” manager Terry Collins said.
Collins said because David Wright has cooled off a bit from his superb first half — he’s hitting .248 since the All-Star break after hitting .351 before — the Mets have needed other players to pick up the slack, but they haven’t.
The Mets stranded 10 runners, managing just six hits and four walks against right-hander Mat Latos (eight innings) and reliever Jose Arredondo. They’re now 55-61, six games under .500.
“It’s tough,” Thole said. “Not getting the big hit. In the first half, big two-out RBIs kept falling for us.”
Credit the Mets’ pitching for remarkably working out of trouble throughout the game. The arms were far from stellar but effective when needed against the National League’s second-best team. Chris Young (5 2/3 innings), Ramon Ramirez, Bobby Parnell and Jon Rauch combined for eight shutout innings despite putting 15 men on base. The Reds left 14 runners on through eight innings.
In the ninth, Acosta (9.29 ERA) got into another jam, prompting Collins to summon the lefty Edgin to face the lefty-hitting Bruce. Edgin had been impressive against lefties since being promoted to the majors, holding them to 4-for-31 with no homers and 14 strikeouts. But he served up Bruce’s 366-foot smash.
“I just left a fastball up,” Edgin said.
The Mets had multiple chances early but had a runner move past first base just twice after the fourth inning. In the seventh, the Mets had Thole on second with one out, but Tejada went down looking and Mike Baxter flied out. Then in the ninth, their two-out rally fell short.
Earlier, with two outs and the bases loaded in the fourth inning, Young drilled a liner to second, but Phillips made a leaping grab to rob Young and keep the Mets scoreless.
“If he’s not the best [second baseman], he’s right there,” Young said. “He made a nice play.”