CINCINNATI — Daisuke Matsuzaka might not have been such a bad addition for the Mets after all.
The veteran right-hander was an unmitigated disaster in his first three starts for the team, nearly earning him a pink slip, but for the last three weeks has been as consistent as any member of the Mets’ rotation.
On Wednesday he fired a four-hitter over 7 ²/₃ shutout innings, leading the Mets’ 1-0 victory the Reds at Great American Ball Park.
”It was really a good opportunity to pitch against a team like this and see how well I can pitch against them,” Matsuzaka said.
The Mets (73-85) finished with two victories in three games against the playoff-bound Reds and are headed home for a four-game series against the Brewers to complete the season.
Eric Young Jr.’s RBI single in the third against Mat Latos accounted for the game’s only run.
Matsuzaka (3-3) struck out six and walked two before Pedro Feliciano retired Joey Votto for the final out of the eighth with the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position. LaTroy Hawkins worked a perfect ninth for his 13th save in 16 chances.
Matsuzaka — who could see action Sunday if Jon Niese gets scratched from his scheduled start — has allowed two earned runs or fewer in each of his last four appearances, for a 1.38 ERA, and is 3-0 over that stretch.
“He threw harder today than he has — it might be that his fastball is coming back,” manager Terry Collins said. “But his command of his stuff, he’s throwing more strikes and he’s really pitching well.”
Collins clarified comments he made the previous night, when he indicated he was concerned about closer Bobby Parnell’s status for 2014. The right-hander recently underwent surgery to repair a herniated disk in his neck.
”The doctors have said he should be 100 percent, but when a guy walks out of the clubhouse, he’s got a neck brace on, he just had neck surgery, he’s pencil-thin, there’s a lot of work ahead,” Collins said. “He hasn’t eaten much solid food in awhile, so he lost a little weight. Bobby loves to hunt and fish and right now I’m sure that’s going to be taking a backseat to some things.”
Catcher Juan Centeno ended Billy Hamilton’s stolen-base streak by throwing out the rookie speedster in his attempted steal of second base in the fifth inning. Hamilton, who arrived from Triple-A Louisville on Sept. 2, was 13-for-13 in stolen bases before Centeno nailed him.
“[Tuesday] I was joking with the guys in the bullpen, ‘I’m going to get that guy tomorrow.’ ” Centeno said. “As soon as I saw him get on base, I was ready.”