Well-rested Bailey starts for Reds against Mets

CINCINNATI -- Reds right hander Homer Bailey will be pitching with two extra days' rest when he faces the New York Mets on Wednesday at Great American Ball Park.

The Cincinnati veteran will oppose Mets right-hander Rafael Montero in the second game of a three-game series.

Bailey got a scare last week when he left his start against the Chicago Cubs after only three innings with irritation in the back of his right shoulder.

That was not encouraging news for the Reds, especially since Bailey returned in June after missing most of the past two seasons following elbow and forearm surgeries.

"There was enough concern on his part," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "If he has concern, I have mega-concern."

The injury turned out to be minor, but pushing Bailey back made sense. First, it created an opportunity for highly touted prospect Tyler Mahle to make his major league debut on Sunday. And, it gave Bailey extra time to make sure the irritation was gone.

Bailey (4-6, 7.99 ERA) hopes for no further issues when he faces the Mets for the fifth time in his career. He is 1-2 against them with a 7.15 ERA in four starts, but he has not faced them since 2012.

"I want to finish this thing up right," Bailey said of heading into the final month of the season.

That might be a tall order for the Mets, who are trying to cope with a depleted lineup minus injured David Wright, Yoenis Cespedes and Michael Conforto. The loss of Wright, the longest-tenured Met, was particularly disheartening for manager Terry Collins.

Wright, out all season due to a cervical disc herniation, shut down his rehab assignment this week due to shoulder pain.

"I sensed the disappointment last week when I talked to him about how it was bothering him," Collins said. "He was real frustrated due to the fact he had done everything everybody wanted him to do as far as the rehab and the exercises, and it just wasn't bouncing back. You could tell he was frustrated about it."

Collins shook things up Tuesday, putting Jose Reyes in left field for the first time in his career. Reyes had made only two previous outfield appearances in his pro career, one in the minors. He misplayed one fly ball resulting in a double for Billy Hamilton in the second inning.

Cincinnati's 14-4 win Tuesday snapped the Mets' 14-game winning streak against the Reds that dated back to Sept. 7, 2014. The Reds (56-76) had outscored New York 81-33 during that span.

Still, the Mets (57-74) have won 11 of their past 13 games at Great American Ball Park. They had won eight straight there before Tuesday.

Montero has faced the Reds once in his career, a start on Sept. 6, 2016, when he earned a no-decision, allowing three earned runs on three hits in 4 1/3 innings during a 5-3 New York victory.

Montero (2-9, 5.44 ERA) took the loss in a Thursday start against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Citi Field, tossing 5 1/3 innings and allowing three runs on seven hits. He also made a relief appearance Sunday at Washington, yielding two runs in one-third of an inning.

The Mets did get some good news, announcing on Tuesday that right-hander Matt Harvey likely would be reinstated from the disabled list to start Friday against the Houston Astros.