NEW YORK -- Right-hander Tylor Megill knows that he is auditioning to be part of the Mets’ rotation next year. And based on his performance this September, he may get a long look come Spring Training 2024.

On Saturday night, Megill kept New York in the game, but he took his eighth loss of the season as the Mets lost to the Reds, 3-2, at Citi Field.

Megill didn’t have his best stuff, but he worked with what he had well enough to avoid a worst-case outcome. There was plenty of traffic on the bases -- nine hits and two walks -- but each time Megill found trouble, he managed to escape before it spiraled out of control.

The first inning was his only clean one. In the second, though, Cincinnati got on the board through no fault of Megill's.

With runners on first and third, Christian Encarnacion-Strand attempted to steal second base. Instead of throwing to second, catcher Francisco Alvarez tried to fool lead runner TJ Friedl by throwing behind him at third. Unfortunately, third baseman Ronny Mauricio, playing just his second big league game at the position, was late covering the bag, and the ball sailed into left field.

Megill found trouble again in the fourth inning. After Joey Votto walked with one out, Encarnacion-Strand swung at a 1-2 pitch and cleared the center-field wall for his seventh home run of the season, putting the Reds ahead 3-1. Encarnacion-Strand sent Megill's 95 mph elevated fastball 428 feet in the other direction, according to Statcast.

“He kept going to the fastball in the same spot," Encarnacion-Strand said. "I just happened [to not] miss that one.”

The Reds had the bases loaded with one out in the fifth, but Megill made his escape, inducing Tyler Stephenson to ground into a double play to end the threat.

Megill badly wanted to complete the sixth inning, and got off to a promising start by striking out the first two batters he faced. But after allowing a single to Elly De La Cruz on his 97th pitch of the night, Megill was done, exiting in favor of left-hander Brooks Raley.

“[Megill] gave us a chance to win,” Showalter said. “We've scored five runs in the last 18 innings. That’s a challenge.”

Megill was honest about his performance, saying that the outing was a grind.

“A lot of hits. A lot of pressure early on,” he said. “My stuff wasn’t terrible today. I felt like I executed a lot of two strikes -- offspeed. Not a lot of chase. They were trying to get me in the strike zone. Obviously, they did. It was grinding, keeping the team in it, not letting it snowball.”

Megill has allowed five runs in 16 innings in September, good for a 2.81 ERA. Heading into an offseason during which the Mets will need to make major decisions about the future of their rotation, he knows how important this month is, and he has a strategy for ending the season on a high note.

“I have to attack the strike zone and let the defense work,” Megill said. "Audition-wise, just keep being me and going out there and attack[ing] hitters.”