The last time the Cincinnati Reds won a playoff series, Barry Larkin and Bret Boone were the middle infielders, and Jeff Brantley was closing games.

This was not a playoff team in October. Or a contender in September. This was the bad-bullpen, meh-lineup Nationals playing for nothing in July.

The New York Mets bounced back on Sunday afternoon with a 3-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds at Citi Field, snapping a two-game losing streak. The narrow win marked a return to form for New York after a rough patch and helped them avoid a sweep in their first home series after the All-Star break.

Jake Fraley matched a career high with three hits and drove in two runs as the Cincinnati Reds beat the New York Mets 5-2.

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 -- In the previous two seasons in which the Reds had a winning record coming out of the All-Star Break, 2021 and 2023, they were swept by the Milwaukee Brewers in their first series in the second half of the regular season.

It was the 39th time in the modern era (since 1901) that a hitter got nailed three times in one game. It’s happened to 34 different players — the only previous Reds batter was Derek Dietrich at Milwaukee on June 21,