Lo Duca Powers Mets Past Reds

The New York Mets just keep winning. Paul Lo Duca hit a pair of three-run homers and collected a career-high seven RBIs, and Shawn Green (pictured) went 3-for-5 and provided the go-ahead two-run double to lead the [Mets past the Cincinnati Reds] last night, 11-7.

Lo Duca, who had his first multi-homer game in nearly six years, gave New York an early 3-0 lead with a three-run blast in the second inning. But Cincinnati rallied to take a 5-3 advantage, only to have the Mets storm back with a five-run sixth. Delgado hit a game-tying two-run shot, followed by Green’s two-run double and a Lo Duca RBI single to make it 8-5. In the eighth inning, after the Reds had crept to 8-6, Lo Duca hit another three-run bomb to put the game out of reach.

The Mets have now won a season-high five straight contests, and sit [five games ahead] of second-place Philadelphia in the NL East. “They’re the best team in the league, from what I’ve seen,” Reds interim manager Pete Mackanin said, after the game. Unfortunately, the Mets were the best team in the NL last year too and still got beat in the playoffs, so they still have to prove they can do it in October.