NEW YORK -- Even in the midst of a well-timed eight-game winning streak -- the club’s longest since August 2019 -- the Mets found themselves in need of good news on Saturday after learning that Jeff McNeil would miss the rest of the regular season with a right wrist fracture. A key cog in the middle of the field removed at an inopportune time could produce a stumble for a team embroiled in a National League Wild Card race that’s rife with squads waiting for each other to slip up.

Well, in stepped Harrison Bader and Jose Quintana.

Bader -- a Bronxville, N.Y., native -- came through from the bottom of the lineup on Saturday, delivering a go-ahead blast to lead off the sixth inning and kicking off a four-run rally against the Reds’ bullpen -- propelling the Mets to a 4-0 win at Citi Field. In turn, the Mets extended their season-high winning streak to nine games, the club’s longest since April 3-13, 2018. Bader’s home run was a slump-breaking moment in a couple of ways -- New York mustered just one hit in the first five innings against starter Jakob Junis, and Bader was mired in an 0-for-15 stretch at the plate.

Bader went the other way with an up-and-away fastball from Sam Moll, depositing it just over the right-center-field wall into the visitors’ bullpen. When the ball landed a Statcast-projected 390 feet away, the relief was apparent on Bader’s entire body: The center fielder stretched his arms out wide and looked up to the sky, soaking up every moment of his home run trot.

But even before Bader’s inciting blast, Quintana’s brilliance kept New York in the game. The left-hander logged 6 2/3 scoreless frames against the Reds, scattering five hits while notching six strikeouts and allowing just two walks, maintaining the momentum of the Mets’ rotation. Quintana’s velocity was up on each of his pitches, and he played his changeup off of the rest of his arsenal perfectly, producing eight whiffs on the pitch.

Quintana earned his 100th career win, becoming the 19th active pitcher to reach the milestone.