CINCINNATI — Taking two out of three games from the New York Mets is good. However, Sunday’s 3-2 loss for the Reds is a missed opportunity to earn a huge sweep of a good Mets team and further dent into the National League Wild Card race.

New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso avoided ending his streak of consecutive games played on Sunday. Alonso entered the team's clash with the Cincinnati Reds in the seventh inning after he was initially out of the starting lineup with a hand injury (h/t Will Sammon of The Athletic).

BOTTOM LINE: The New York Mets look to break their three-game home slide with a win against the Cincinnati Reds. New York has gone 33-16 at home and 55-44 overall. Mets pitchers have a collective 3.61 ERA, which ranks second in the NL.

Cincinnati sends Andrew Abbott to the mound, who’s 8-1 with a 2.07 ERA. The lefty pitched a clean inning in the All-Star Game, after a stellar run into the break where he went 3-0 in six starts. Over that stretch, Abbott allowed one earned run or fewer in five of six outings.

Cincinnati Reds infielder Noelvi Marte was taking reps in the outfield ahead of Saturday's game against the New York Mets. Since coming back from the injured list, Marte has been hitting the ball well,

Preview the July 20 matchup between the New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds with odds over/under, game spread, betting lines and more.

Austin Hays hit two homers and finished with three RBIs Friday night for the visiting Cincinnati Reds, who beat the New York Mets 8-4 in the opener of a three-game series.