CINCINNATI — The Mets broke normal protocol and traveled during Monday’s day off instead of immediately after the previous day’s game in part because the players don’t exactly love this city.
That’s off the field.
On the field, the locale doesn’t matter: the Mets are spreading fertilizer everywhere — at least it smells that way.
On Tuesday they combined another rough pitching performance with two giant missed opportunities in a 7-6 loss to the Reds at Great American Ball Park.
The loss was the Mets’ 12th in 15 games and pushed them two games below .500 for the first time this season.
With Max Scherzer scratched from the start because of neck spasms, David Peterson received a recall from Triple-A Syracuse and reminded the Mets why he was recently demoted in the first place.
The Reds knocked out the left-hander in the fourth inning and piled on against Stephen Nogosek, the latest Mets reliever needed for extended duty.
The missed opportunity came in the seventh inning and eighth innings, when the Mets failed to capitalize on chances with the bases loaded.
In the seventh, the Mets loaded the bases with nobody out after Pete Alonso’s homer sliced the Reds’ lead to 7-3 and Mark Canha hit into a double play.
In the eighth, the Mets loaded the bases with two outs after Francisco Lindor’s two-run homer, but Luis Guillorme (pinch hitting for Canha) struck out against Alexis Diaz.
Francisco Alvarez was the Mets’ big offensive threat with two homers.
It was the first multi-homer game of the rookie’s major league career.
The night began to unravel on the Mets during a fifth inning that included Buck Showalter’s first ejection in his two seasons managing the team.
Showalter got tossed after arguing that Wil Myers interfered with Francisco Lindor at second base as the shortstop took Jeff McNeil’s throw.
On the play Myers appeared to intentionally grab Lindor’s glove, allowing the ball to drop.
TJ Friedl followed with a two-run triple against Nogosek and Jonathan India’s sacrifice fly extended the Reds’ lead to 7-1.
The rally started with Myers’ squib single.
Peterson lasted 3 1/3 innings and allowed four earned runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and two walks.
The left-hander’s disappointing season continued with a fourth straight start in which he allowed at least four earned runs and his ERA increased to 7.68.
Tyler Stephenson’s RBI single in the first inning gave the Reds their first run.
Peterson managed to avoid further trouble by striking out Myers with runners on second and third.
The Mets’ deficit extended to 3-0 in the second.
Peterson walked Kevin Newman to begin the inning and allowed a single to Friedl before Jonathan India’s ground out brought in a run.
Nick Senzel’s single added another run.
Alvarez homered in the third and sixth innings to give the Mets their only two runs before the seventh.