Mets at Reds
Scott Schebler has struggled a bit for most of the season in front of the faithful at Great American Ball Park, but the 26-year-old sure has made his mark during the Cincinnati Reds' current nine-game homestand. Schebler looks to continue his torrid stretch on Wednesday as the Reds vie for a rare series victory over the visiting New York Mets.
Schebler belted his third homer in six outings with his first career grand slam in Tuesday's 14-4 triumph, improving to 7-for-12 with nine RBIs and five runs scored in his last four games. He is batting just .209 with 10 homers at home this season as opposed to .269 with 16 blasts on the road for National League cellar-dwelling Cincinnati, which snapped a 14-game losing skid to New York in the series opener. The Mets won 19 of the last 22 encounters with the Reds, but have dropped 12 of their last 16 games overall. Jose Reyes reached base four times and improved to 9-for-17 with seven runs scored in his last six outings, but is just 1-for-5 in his career versus Wednesday starter Homer Bailey.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, SNY (New York), FSN Ohio (Cincinnati)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mets RH Rafael Montero (2-9, 5.64 ERA) vs. Reds RH Homer Bailey (4-6, 7.99)
Montero's struggles continued in a brief outing against Washington on Sunday, allowing two runs on as many hits in one-third of an inning. The 26-year-old Dominican exited with a no-decision in that clash, but is 1-5 with a 5.65 ERA since July 2. As for positives, Montero has kept the ball in the park in each of last three outings after being taken deep eight times in his previous five trips to the mound.
Bailey received some additional rest after exiting his last outing versus the Chicago Cubs on Aug. 22 with irritation in his right shoulder. "We debated about whether he could go back out there, but we knew he shouldn't with the road he's traveled," manager Bryan Price said of the 31-year-old. Bailey had dropped four of his previous six decisions while surrendering six, 10, seven and eight runs during that stretch.
WALK-OFFS
1. Cincinnati 2B Scooter Gennett, who scored three times in the series opener, has hit safely in nine of his last 11 games.
2. New York 2B Asdrubal Cabrera is 6-for-16 with one homer, six RBIs and four runs scored in his last five contests.
3. Mets RHP Noah Syndergaard (lat) will throw a 25-pitch bullpen session on Wednesday.