Game Chat: Mets vs. Reds, 1:40 P.M.

Sunday, September 7, 2025 • 1:40 PM
Great American Ball Park • Cincinnati, OH
RHP Brandon Sproat (0-0, -.–) vs. RHP Hunter Greene (5-4, 2.70)
SNY • MLBN

The New York Mets outhit the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday nine to six but couldn’t get it done yesterday as the Reds ultimately won 6-3. The Reds now have a chance to win the tiebreaker today if they beat the Mets. If the Mets win, they will not only make more difficult for the Reds to eventually catch up to them (currently five games back), but would open up the more complicated intra-division record as a tiebreaker.

But that’s not the main story today. Brandon Sproat, the final major Mets pitching prospect, makes his major league debut. Who would have thought a month or so ago that Jonah Tong, Brandon Sproat and Nolan McLean would all be pitching in the major league rotation on consecutive days.

Mets Lineup

1. Francisco Lindor – SS
2. Juan Soto – DH
3. Pete Alonso – 1B
4. Brandon Nimmo – LF
5. Starling Marte – RF
6. Jeff McNeil – 2B
7. Francisco Alvarez – C
8. Brett Baty – 2B
9. Cedric Mullins – CF

Brandon Sproat has pitched 121 innings over 26 games this season for Syracuse with a 4.24 ERA and 1.240 WHIP. Sproat is coming off a very strong start where he held the Scranton Rail Riders (Triple-A) scoreless over seven innings, scattering three hits and two walks while striking out nine.

Sproat can dial up his fastball to triple-digits but mainly sits int he upper-90 mph range. He mixes in a sinker, changeup, sweeper, slider, and curveball.

Reds Lineup

1. TJ Friedl – CF
2. Noelvi Marte -RF
3. Elly De La Cruz – SS
4. Austin Hays – DH
5. Gavin Lux – LF
6. Sal Stewart – 1B
7. Tyler Stephenson – C
8. Ke’Bryan Hayes – 3B
9. Matt McLain – 2B

Hunter Greene has pitched 83 1/3 innings this season over 15 games with a 2.70 ERA, 3.27 FIP, 0.972 WHIP, and a 171 ERA+. He’s coming off of a strong start against Toronto where he allowed one run over 6 1/3 innings while striking out seven. In his two starts before that, he allowed eight runs (six earned) over 11 1/3 innings while striking out 15 batters.

The Mets have the following stats against Hunter Greene:

• Pete Alonso 2-9, 2 HR, 3 BB, 2 K
• Francisco Alvarez 0-4, BB, 2 K
• Brett Baty 2-5
• Francisco Lindor 1-9, HR, 2 K
• Starling Marte 0-9, 2 K
• Ronny Mauricio 0-2
• Jeff McNeil 4-10, 2B, 2 K
• Cedric Mullins 1-6, HR, 3 K
• Brandon Nimmo 5-9, HR, 2 K
• Mark Vientos 0-2

Game Notes

Prior to Sunday’s game the Mets announced the following roster moves:

• RHP Brandon Sproat selected to the major-league roster
• RHP Reed Garrett has been reinstated from the 15-day injured list
• RHP Wander Suero has been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse
• RHP Kevin Herget has been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse
• RHP Justin Garza has been designed for assignment

Three Things To Watch For

1. Juan Soto 30-30? Juan Soto is on track to have his first ever 40-30 season. He has 37 home runs and, on Saturday, he stole his 29th stolen base of the season. While hitting three home runs Sunday is unlikely, he is only one stolen base away from his first ever 30-30 season.
2. Keep the Reds in the park. Great American Ball Park is a home run hitting park. It is the third-friendliest park for hitters with a 103 “Park Factor” according to Baseball Savant over the last three years and it is almost entirely due to home runs having a 123 factor (singles, doubles, and triples are all below 100, park factors are weighted averages). We saw this impact Tong directly Saturday allowing three home runs. Sproat is going to have to keep the Reds sluggers in the ballpark to have a successful afternoon.
3. Playoff Picture. The playoff picture got a little tougher for the Mets yesterday with the Padres and Phillies winning. The Mets now trail the Phillies by seven games in the division and the Padres by one game for the second wild card spot. It’s all the other teams involved that made things interesting. There are now four teams trying to chase the last wild card spot in the final weeks of the season: Giants (4), Diamondbacks (4.5), Reds (5), Cardinals (5.5). Meanwhile the Orioles beat the Dodgers again, so the Dodgers have lost five straight collapsing their division lead to one game. The Mets can close the narrow window all of the wild card chasers have with each additional win.

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