Of the very small number of ballplayers who grow up to be Major Leaguers, even fewer have the fortune of playing for the team they grew up rooting for. T.J. Zeuch, who was born in Mason, Ohio, raised a Reds fan and, like most baseball fans his age and older, idolized Ken Griffey Jr., had that opportunity on Wednesday afternoon. 

He was hoping for better results in his debut with Cincinnati, but instead took the loss after yielding six runs on six hits and two walks over four innings as the Reds dropped the series finale to the Mets, 10-2, at Citi Field. The game marked Cincinnati’s final stop before heading to Dyersville, Iowa, to play in Thursday’s Field of Dreams Game.

“Getting back in the big leagues and pitching in the big leagues again is obviously great, but I wish I would have given us a better chance to win out there,” Zeuch said.

Zeuch had already put his stamp on a slice of Reds trivia before he took the mound for this game. He was the 57th different player to appear in a game for the Reds this season, tying the 2003 team for the most in a single season in club history. He was also the 15th different starting pitcher the Reds have used in 2022 -- as of first pitch Wednesday, that tied the Tigers and Angels for the most starters used in the big leagues this season.

Both distinctions are telltale signs that this Reds season has had its struggles. The final two months will be mostly about making decisions for next year and filling in the blanks to finish this one, and Zeuch, a first-round Draft pick by the Blue Jays in 2016 whom the Reds signed in early June, falls into the latter category. Post-Trade Deadline, the final months of Cincinnati’s season might include more auditions for pitchers not in the original plans earlier this year.

Zeuch struggled early against the Mets in his first Major League appearance since June 17 of last year, when he faced the Yankees as part of the Blue Jays’ staff. The 6-foot-7 right-hander plunked Brandon Nimmo to open the game and followed that with a walk to Francisco Lindor. Pete Alonso then drove in the first Mets run with a base hit.

“I think T.J. has good control and good command, but then that’s kind of part of his game,” manager David Bell said. “The first couple of hitters getting on base right there make it for a tough start.”

Zeuch struggled to put away hitters after getting ahead of them, especially in the second inning. He had two strikes on three batters who logged hits during the Mets’ three-run frame.

“I think I was just trying to do too much in those two-strike counts,” Zeuch said. “I think I did a good job of getting ahead of guys and trusting my stuff to do that. I think when I got in those two-strike counts, I was trying to make pitches. I was trying to make stuff nasty and make them swing and miss instead of just trusting my stuff and letting it do what it does.”

The sweep by the Mets soured what had been a good road trip for the Reds, who took two of three in Milwaukee and two of three in Miami. They are 6-2-1 in their past nine completed series.

But Citi Field continues to elude this team; Cincinnati has lost 17 of 23 games played at the Mets’ ballpark. They’re in good company, however. The first-place Mets are on one of their hottest streaks of the season, winning six in a row, eight of their last 10 and 14 of their last 16.

“Overall we really ran into a good team and a really hot team as well,” Bell said. “Kind of a tough spot. I thought [Zeuch] did a nice job and helped us stay in good shape with our bullpen.”

The hometown tie will likely be the reason Wednesday’s game sticks in Zeuch’s memory, even if the results were not what he was hoping for.

“I think that moment kind of came when I first got here in the locker room, seeing all the Reds stuff, putting on the Reds stuff in the big leagues for the first time,” Zeuch said. “It was great. I tried to go out there and give us our best chance to win, and I just didn’t do that today.”