Buck Showalter ensured most of his Mets received breaks during the team’s stretch of 14 games in 13 days that ended Wednesday afternoon.
The Mets manager, however, did not sit Francisco Lindor or Pete Alonso. Even on a club that prides itself on depth, there are a few players who cannot be replaced.
Lindor and Alonso continued to prove that Wednesday, combining to go 5-for-8 with three RBIs as the Mets swept away the Reds with a 10-2 beatdown at Citi Field. A crowd of 36,883 fans witnessed the Mets’ sixth straight win — and the sixth straight game in which they never trailed.
The sizzling Mets (73-39) moved 7 ½ games ahead of the Braves in the division before Atlanta played at Boston.
Showalter’s crew will be sad to see the Reds go, having won five of the six games against them this season while outscoring them 36-13. After their first day off since July 28, the Mets’ homestand will continue Friday, when the Phillies arrive for a three-game set, before the Mets play four in Atlanta.
There is a good chance Lindor and Alonso will be in the lineup in each of those. Showalter could afford to give Starling Marte a day off Wednesday, just as Brandon Nimmo sat Tuesday. Alonso and Lindor, on the other hand, have missed one game apiece this season.
“I don’t know if there’s anybody who’s answered the bell better than those two guys,” said Showalter, who finally gave Lindor’s legs a rest on defense for the ninth inning, but not without a “fight,” he added.
Lindor reached base in four of his five plate appearances and hit a two-out, two-run single in the second inning to give the Mets a healthy, 4-0 cushion that was never threatened.
The shortstop now has 81 RBIs, which tied him with Jose Reyes’ total from 2005 for the most by a Mets shortstop in one season — and there are still 50 games left.
When Lindor scored on Jeff McNeil’s sacrifice fly in the first inning, it made it 13 straight games in which he has scored a run, tying David Wright (in 2008) for the franchise record. Lindor cannot be kept out of the lineup or, recently, off home plate.
“I came to New York to play baseball. That’s part of my job description,” said Lindor, who appreciated matching Reyes, who was a childhood idol. “As long as the good Lord continues to bless me with health, I’ll be out there.”
He finished the game third in the National League in RBIs, but second on his own team.
Alonso, who went 3-for-5, knocked in the first run of the game with a chopped single up the middle in the first against Reds righty T.J. Zeuch. It was his 96th RBI of the season.
He added a blasted single to left an inning later, which set up an RBI single from Daniel Vogelbach. In a three-run sixth that removed any doubt about the outcome, Alonso again singled to set the table for Vogelbach, whose two-run double just tucked inside the first-base line.
The new-look Mets have scored at least five runs in nine straight games through strong platoon work from the newcomers (Vogelbach had three RBIs and Tyler Naquin hit a solo homer), strong production from the holdovers (McNeil ran his hitting streak to 13 games with an RBI double in the sixth) and persistent strength from the few bats who will play regardless of the opposing pitcher. Alonso and Lindor are the only pair of teammates in baseball who have at least 80 RBIs each.
The Mets’ pitching did not have to be perfect, but was just fine anyway.
Taijuan Walker, who had been crushed in his previous outing, an eight-run, three-out nightmare against the Braves on Friday, bounced back by allowing two runs on six hits with three walks in six innings.
“Fastball location was really good today,” said Walker, who eased up on his splitter and used his fastball to get ahead.
Walker got into trouble a couple of times, but only allowed runs in the fourth inning, on Joey Votto’s RBI double and Jake Fraley’s sacrifice fly to score Votto.
Whenever Walker needed a key out, he got it. The Reds loaded the bases in the fifth — controversially, as Votto appeared to dip his elbow so he got plunked by a curveball — but Walker induced the ground ball he wanted from Donovan Solano to end the inning.
“No matter who the opponent is, we go out there and play the same way every single time,” said Walker, who has won 10 games for the first time since 2015.
