STINK REY’
In return ‘home,’ Jose goes 0-for-4 as Mets win streak goes up in smoke
Jose Reyes arrived empty-handed to t he party Tuesday night, hardly augmenting the positive vibes that had surrounded the Mets in recent days.
In came Reyes, out went the Mets’ five-game winning streak with a 5-2 loss to the Marlins at Citi Field.
“I was a little excited, a little nervous ,” Reyes said after finishing 0-for4 from the leadoff spot in his return to the Mets, following his release last month by t he Rockies. “I felt like it was my first game in the big leagues.”
Re yes, who served a 5 2 - ga me suspension with the Rockies for violating MLB’s domestic abuse policy — he was arrested last offseason on charges he assaulted his wife — received a standing ovation from many of the 29,477 in attendance before his first at-bat.
Faint ch ants of“Jose, Jo-se, Jo-se” could be heard during each of his first two at-bats.
“They showed me a lot of love, and I respect that,” Reyes said, adding he was unsure how he would be received.
A lineup that had scored 40 runs over the previous f ive games was reduced to rubble by lefty Wei-Yin Chen, who dominated the Mets over seven innings.
With Reyes in the lineup at third base, manager Terry Collins moved sizzling Wilmer Flores to second base for the night — he also finished 0-for-4 — and put Neil Walker on the bench for a rest. Reyes did not get a ball hit to him in his first career start at third.
The fact Reyes hit only .176 in 11 minor-league games after signing with the Mets on June 25 might be an indicator the veteran inf ielder is still rusty. He also played nine games in Triple-A for the Rockies.
“We are just hoping today was a bundle of nerves, he was quite excited,” Collins said. “The response from the crowd tonight, before the game, during the game, he will calm down and get in the flow.”
Giancarlo Stanton hit two titanic homers that accounted for all f ive of the Marlins’ runs. The second blast was a three-run shot against Erik Goeddel in the eighth that gave the Marlins a 5-1 cushion.
In his strongest outing in five weeks, Steven Matz (7-4) lasted seven innings and allowed two earned runs on six hits with one walk and six strikeouts. Over his previous six starts, the lefty had pitched to a 5.01 ERA as he battled discomfort caused by a bone spur in his elbow. Matz waltzed into t he seventh before Stanton unloaded with a line drive deep into the left-center seats for a tworun homer that gave the Marlins a 2-1 lead.
Collins plans to use the 33-year-old Reyes primarily at third base, but indicated before the game that center field is also a possibility. Reyes has never played the outfield, but is willing to try.
“When you go to your house and you go home, it doesn’t matter where you sleep,” Reyes said. “If it’s the kitchen, bathroom — it doesn’t matter, you are going to feel comfortable, right?
“This is my home, so everywhere that they put me I am going to be happy. I am going to try to perform better than I can to help this ball club win every day when I step on the field.”
Re yes also ac kn owledged his “mistake” from last October, when he was arrested, and asked for forgiveness.
“I know there’s going to be some people that are going to hate me, I understand that,” Reyes said. “I put myself in that situation. People who know me, they know that I’m not that kind of person. I am a human being and a human being makes a mistake, nobody is perfect.
“But you have to learn from the mistake. I paid my suspension, I went to counseling and I am going to continue to be open to continue to do that, to be a better man, a better husband and a better daddy and better teammate.”