CINCINNATI _ The Mets found the right recipe for breaking out of their offensive slump: a series against the woeful Reds at cozy Great American Ball Park.
Three players mashed four homers to help snap a six-game losing skid as the Mets topped the Reds, 7-6, on Monday night. Adrian Gonzalez swatted a pair of homers while Jay Bruce and Michael Conforto also added long balls.
Debuting lefty P.J. Conlon allowed three runs in 32/3 innings while becoming the first native of Belfast, Ireland, to play in the majors since 1909.
The Mets (18-15) ended this past six-game homestand in an offensive slump having scored only 11 runs in six defeats. They were blanked in three games, and just once scored more than two runs. They entered the day in the bottom-third in MLB in runs scored, and a power-heavy lineup had tallied the fourth-fewest homers in the majors.
The lack of homers has been one of the more startling early trends.
"Our team is built to hit homers. We don't have the team speed really to get a couple of infield hits and get a rally going and put together five or six hits in a row," Mets manager Mickey Callaway said. "That's just how we are and the team we are. So, we need a few guys to get going and maybe start driving the ball, some doubles, some extra base hits."
The Reds proved to be the perfect antidote for the Mets' power woes since Cincinnati entered the day with the worst ERA in MLB and has allowed the most homers.
Conforto started the fireworks by snapping his 73 at-bat homer drought with a shot to left off the aptly named Homer Bailey. Conforto had not homered since his third at-bat in his first game on April 5, and his power drought has affected the lineup.
Two innings later, Bruce hit a two-run homer of Bailey to push the Mets lead to 4-0, and Gonzalez hit a solo homer to push the edge to five runs.
Gonzalez again hit a solo homer in the fifth to give the Mets a 7-3 lead, and now have five homers this year after hitting only three last year with the Dodgers.
The veteran has now homered seven times off Bailey in 27 career at-bats.
The offensive explosion came at an opportune time since the Mets had to fend off a rally from a Reds lineup that has struggled to score runs this year.
Conlon cruised for three innings before struggling in the fourth and being pulled, and it forced the Mets bullpen to register 16 outs. Conlon's slow offerings kept the Reds off balance before they scored two runs in the fourth to slice the Mets' lead to 6-3.
The lefty yielded four hits and struck out two spanning 56 pitches. He became the first Belfast native to play in the majors since Henry "Irish" Mcllveen.
The bullpen did its part by allowing only three runs, but the Mets could have been in a better situation had they decided earlier to place Jacob deGrom on the disabled list.
Robert Gsellman allowed one run in 22/3 innings, and closer Jeurys Familia tossed a perfect ninth inning to register his 10th save.
The team did not decide until Sunday to sideline deGrom, and that left them without their top two spot starters in Seth Lugo and Corey Oswalt. Lugo threw three innings Friday against the Rockies, and Oswalt started Saturday night for Class AAA Las Vegas.
With some better planning, the Mets could have saved either pitcher for Monday, and the bullpen likely would not have been tasked with so many innings to start a series.
The short outing also comes before starts by Jason Vargas and Zack Wheeler, and the Mets cannot be certain what they will receive from either.
