Reds-Mets game suspended after six innings

NEW YORK -- Credit belongs to reliever Manny Parra for allowing the Reds a chance to live and fight another day. Saturday's game was suspended before the seventh inning with a 1-1 score because of rain, with the conclusion scheduled for Sunday at 1:10 p.m. ET before the regularly scheduled season finale.

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The Reds could have been losers had Parra not gotten out of a jam in the bottom of the sixth.

"He sure did, he sure did. That was one ball away from this game probably being over. Yeah, it was a big out right there," Reds manager Bryan Price said.

With two outs, Reds starter Michael Lorenzen walked pinch-hitter Darrell Ceciliani and Dilson Herrera to load the bases. That brought up Curtis Granderson, who already had a double and home run in the game. Cincinnati summoned the left-handed Parra, who fell into a 3-1 count before getting a routine fly out to left field that ended the inning.

Umpires stopped the game before the top of the seventh. Had New York taken the lead vs. the Parra, it would have won since it was already an official contest after the fifth inning.

"Big out, man," Parra said. "That guy has been doing some damage lately. I'm glad I got the ball down just enough. I don't think he missed it by much. Falling behind to him is dangerous."

After Granderson's two-out homer against Lorenzen made it a 1-0 game in the third inning, the Reds evened the game in the fifth against starter Matt Harvey. Tucker Barnhart led off with a double to right field that went in and out of the glove of a sliding Granderson. Following a Lorenzen sacrifice bunt that moved Barnhart to third base, Brandon Phillips' RBI double to left-center made it 1-1.

Lorenzen completed 5 2/3 innings and allowed one earned run and six hits with four walks and four strikeouts. Harvey gave up one earned run and five hits over six innings with two walks and three strikeouts.

"I think he might have gotten a little fatigued there at the end, I didn't think he was trying to be too fine," Price said of Lorenzen. "He's starting to trust his stuff more, he's challenging hitters in the strike zone. I thought he really attacked the zone well, I think he just got a little tired at the end. I was real happy with the way he threw the ball."

Both pitchers appeared to have their trouble in the rain, and could be seen looking at the baseballs in their hands.

"It was really tough, but in the Minor Leagues, you pitch on some tough mounds too," Lorenzen said. "So all that was going through my mind was, 'I've pitched in worse, and just keep the team in the baseball game as long as possible, especially against Harvey.' It's going to be tough to get runs across against a guy like him. No excuses, but it was tough."

Lorenzen wasn't pleased with himself for creating the threat for the Mets in the sixth.

"My glove was getting more and more wet, so when I took the ball it was slick. But [I have to] throw strikes, especially with the eight-nine guys up in the lineup," Lorenzen said. "One was a pinch-hitter, but their best hitter right now is Granderson. I walked two straight guys to load the bases to get to him. That's not very smart, but Parra came in. I had faith in him to get it done, for sure."

Following Granderson's fly out, the game was delayed for 53 minutes before the call was made to suspend it.

The last time the Reds had a suspended game was April 14, 2014, vs. the Pirates. It was completed the following day with Cincinnati losing by an 8-7 score.