Reds, sudden storm leave Vargas and Mets soaked
Jason Vargas didn’t last long, but this time it wasn’t his own fault. At least not entirely.
And maybe the torrential downpour in Flushing saved him from allowing a flood of runs in yet another outing.
Vargas still gave up hits to three of the four batters he faced, including Scooter Gennett, who laced an RBI single to give Cincinnati the lead shortly before players were waved off the field, but things didn’t get better for the Mets once the rain stopped.
Vargas (2-8) took the loss after allowing three runs and three hits while recording one out as the Mets fell to the Reds, 6-1, on Tuesday night in a game delayed
for 1 hour, 40 minutes in the first inning.
Sal Romano got the win in his New York homecoming, pitching into the seventh inning to lift Cincinnati.
Romano (7-9) was born in Syosset on nearby Long Island and grew up in Southington, Connecticut. He allowed a run, two
hits and three walks while striking out five over six-plus innings to help the Reds snap a three-game skid.
The 24-year-old took the mound two hours later than anticipated but with a 3-0 lead thanks to a Reds outburst that bookended the thunderstorm.
Once play resumed and with Vargas out of the game, Phillip Ervin lofted a sacrifice fly off Paul Sewald, and Tucker Barnhart delivered a run-scoring single.
Romano left after walking the first two batters of the seventh and received a warm ovation from a group of fans wearing Reds gear behind the visiting dugout.
Ervin hit a two-run homer in the third, and ex-Mets prospect Dilson Herrera led off the ninth with a pinch-hit homer.
A NOT-SO-SWEET SHORT START
Before the game was delayed at 7:20 p.m., one rumble of thunder was so loud that Mets shortstop Amed Rosario ducked before darting toward the thirdbase line.
The rain made Vargas’ 240th start his shortest. Prior to Tuesday, Vargas’ briefest start was a one-inning outing for the Marlins on Oct. 1, 2005. He is the first Mets starter to record one out or fewer since Jonathon Niese got one out against the Cards before exiting due to a knee injury on Aug. 23, 2016.