Reyes gets 3 hits, but blunder on bases costs Mets

NEW YORK — Jose Reyes had a big night in the batting race and a bad one on the bases.

Reyes got three hits to boost his bid for the NL batting title, but his baserunning blunder in the eighth inning Monday cost the New York Mets a chance to tie the game in a 6-5 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.

The speedy Reyes lined an RBI double into the right-field corner to make it 6-5, a ball that he normally would turn into a triple without much trouble. But the Mets have instructed Reyes to take it easy on his legs after hamstring injuries landed him on the disabled list twice during the summer, so he cruised toward second base at half-speed and appeared caught in-between.

Perhaps expecting a throw to the plate that would allow him to take third, Reyes took a wide turn around second — much too far. The Reds threw behind him and he was easily tagged out.

Ruben Tejada followed with a single, then was caught stealing on a close play to end the inning.

"I went too far. I should have stayed there. I already was in scoring position," Reyes said. "I don't care about batting titles right now because we lost the game and I made a mistake running the bases and that cost us the game."

Reyes finished 3 for 4 with a sacrifice fly and a stolen base to raise his average to .334. Milwaukee slugger Ryan Braun began the night at .333 before delivering a pinch-hit double against Pittsburgh and remaining in the game.

No member of the Mets — or Brewers, for that matter — has won a batting crown.

"It's huge. It's huge for him. It's huge for everybody. It's huge for this organization to have a guy who can do that," New York manager Terry Collins said. "I'm pulling for him, for sure."

A sparse crowd, announced at 28,651, cheered when the big video board in center field showed that Reyes' second hit had tied him with Braun at .333.

Collins said he might sit Reyes in the season finale Wednesday afternoon, depending on how he feels. However, Collins said the batting race could factor into his decision.

Reyes can become a free agent after the season and might be playing his final games with the Mets, who signed him when he was 16.

"Tomorrow and the next day are going to be tough for me," he said. "I can't let that go through my head. But like I said, I have to stay focused like always. I'm going to think about it, no doubt, but I don't know what's going to happen to me in the future."

New York was leading 4-3 in the sixth and had two runners on when David Wright hit a two-out drive to the gap in left-center. Chris Heisey raced over and made a diving grab that saved two runs.

Joey Votto and Jay Bruce singled off Tim Byrdak (2-1) in the seventh before Heisey hit the first pitch from Josh Stinson over the 16-foot fence in left field for a go-ahead homer. Heisey, who has 18 home runs in 271 at-bats this year, finished with three hits.

"I'm happy with that. I wouldn't have expected it coming into the year," Heisey said. "I never was a home run hitter until this year, really. I couldn't really tell you why I'm hitting home runs now."

Logan Ondrusek (5-5) got one out for the win and Francisco Cordero escaped a jam in the ninth to earn his 36th save in 42 chances. After his first two batters reached safely, Cordero threw out a runner at third on a bunt and then got Josh Thole to ground into a game-ending double play.

With his 326th save, Cordero tied Roberto Hernandez for 12th place on the career list. It was his 149th for Cincinnati, breaking a tie with John Franco for second place in team history behind Danny Graves (182).