'Bulldog' Miley bites Mets as Reds right ship

CINCINNATI -- After winning three straight going into the All-Star break and losing four consecutive games coming out of it, the Reds badly needed steadiness, consistency and a good starting pitching performance. They had exactly the right guy to fill those needs perfectly in Wade Miley on Tuesday vs. the Mets.

In a critical 4-3 victory to snap the losing streak, Miley tied a season high with eight strikeouts while he pitched 6 1/3 innings and allowed two runs (one earned), seven hits and two walks. In 17 starts, he is 8-4 with a 2.72 ERA.

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“I’ve never seen somebody like Wade ever in my career. He comes in, puts his clothes on, goes out there and pitches like he was born to be a starting pitcher,” said Amir Garrett, who closed out the game in the ninth for his seventh save. “He was born to play baseball. He just goes out there and does his job. He’s just a bulldog out there. That’s all you can say.”

With the Brewers losing to the Royals, the second-place Reds (49-46) closed the gap to 6 1/2 games in the National League Central.

Those same Brewers swept three games from the Reds after the break, followed by a stomach-churning extra-innings loss to the Mets on Monday. Order needed to be restored, especially with a worn-down bullpen that could use a shorter night.

“I definitely knew going in that the boys were a little worn out down there. At the same time, this time of year, you have to step up. I was able to do that tonight,” Miley said.

For the second night in a row, Pete Alonso hit a homer in the top of the first inning. This time, Alonso took Miley’s 0-1 pitch deep to left field for a 1-0 Mets lead. But the Reds responded quickly. Jonathan India opened the bottom of the first by hitting Robert Stock’s 1-0 pitch to center field for the first leadoff homer of his young career.

Joey Votto and Aristides Aquino hit back-to-back homers against Mets reliever Stephen Nogosek on consecutive pitches with two outs in the third inning to give Cincinnati a 3-1 lead. Then in the fourth inning with a runner on first base, Aquino saved a run with a nice leaping catch at the warning track to take extra bases away from Michael Conforto. Miley showed his appreciation from the mound.

“I didn't notice his reaction, but in that moment, you try to make the best catch that you can, and I try to put my best out there so that's what I did,” Aquino said via translator Jorge Merlos. “He's always there and he's competing his butt off to help us win.”

Miley gave the Reds eight scoreless innings vs. the Brewers on July 9 and was given extra days off coming out of the break. Still, on a muggy night, he showed signs of fatigue when he issued his only two walks of the game to Jonathan Villar and Dom Smith to begin the top of the seventh inning.

Against Mets reliever Stephen Nogosek on consecutive pitches with two outs in the third inning, Joey Votto and Aristides Aquino hit back-to-back homers to give Cincinnati a 3-1 lead. Then in the fourth inning with a runner on first base, Aquino saved a run with a nice leaping catch at the warning track to take extra bases away from Michael Conforto. Miley showed his appreciation from the mound.

Brandon Nimmo struck out on a called third strike before manager David Bell turned it over to Brad Brach and the bullpen.

“I felt pretty good tonight,” Miley said. “I didn’t get quite as deep as I wanted to, but you have to give credit to the Mets’ offense. They did a really good job in the early innings to see a bunch of pitches, foul some pitches off and work some deep counts. I knew my pitch count was going up. I stretched it out as long as I could.”

Brach did his job well, getting Alonso to squib a ball near the mound, but Votto dropped the throw to first base for a run-scoring error. The Reds escaped without more damage when Brach got Jeff McNeil to hit another comebacker his way to start a 1-6-3 double play.

The Reds added an insurance run in the seventh inning when pinch-hitter Tyler Stephenson hit a sacrifice fly to right field that scored India. Against Heath Hembree in the eighth, New York brought it back to a one-run game on pinch-hitter Luis Guillorme’s two-out RBI double to left field. Garrett worked around a leadoff walk to close it out in the ninth.

“This was a great team win -- defense, offense, everything,” Miley said. “It just feels good to be back in that column.”

Cincinnati had the perfect pitcher to put the club there in the veteran left-hander.

“He’s been pitching so consistently well for us,” Bell said. “He’s fun to watch compete. Guys love playing behind him. He works fast, which I’m sure everybody appreciates. More than anything, he can just really pitch. He’s shown that. He continues to stay healthy, take great care of himself and be a big part of our rotation. That’s a big game right there.”