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Arroyo sharp as Reds topple Mets

May 11, 2008 - 3:21 AM By Zachary Braziller PA Sports Ticker Contributing Writer

FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- Bronson Arroyo's deep pitching slump appears to be in the past.

Arroyo silenced the hot New York Mets' bats, pitching eight stellar innings Saturday to lead the Cincinnati Reds to a 7-1 victory that salvaged the nightcap of a day-night doubleheader at Shea Stadium.

The Mets entered the second game of the doubleheader on fire offensively, scoring 12 runs apiece in their previous two games.

Arroyo (2-3), who brought an 8.63 earned run average into the outing, lasted a career-low 1 1/3 innings in his prior start, giving up seven runs on seven hits in Sunday's loss to the Atlanta Braves.

"That's the best game Bronson's thrown," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "He had them off balance, he had great location with his fastball. He was dealing tonight. You get good starting pitching, everyone feels a whole lot better."

David Wright's RBI single in the third was Arroyo's lone blemish in his 115-pitch, 71-strike gem. He allowed just four hits and two walks with a season-high nine strikeouts.

"I felt the same today as I have the last two starts, against the Cardinals and Braves, but the tide has got to turn sometime," Arroyo said. "You throw the ball enough times they're going to hit them on the ground or pop them up in the infield."

Scott Hatteberg had three hits and drove in three runs and former Mets farm hand Jeff Keppinger posted a career-high five hits and score twice. Paul Bako also drove in two runs for the Reds, who lost the first game of the doubleheader, 12-6.

Arroyo (2-4) was impressive throughout. He struck out the side in the first and seventh innings and worked out of a tight jam in the second.

After walking Carlos Beltran and giving up a single to Carlos Delgado, Arroyo made matters more difficult on himself when he dropped Hatteberg's throw on a weakly hit ground ball by Marlon Anderson with one out. But the righthander struck out Ramon Castro and got opposing starter Mike Pelfrey to pop up weakly to right field.

Arroyo retired the final 13 batters he faced. With his looping leg kick, he kept New York off balance, mixing in a changeup and fastball to go along with his twisting slider.

"Hopefully, this gets me over the hump and gets me rolling downhill a little bit," Arroyo said.

Pelfrey (2-2) did not get off to a quick start, allowing an RBI single to Ken Griffey Jr. in the first. The righthander settled down thereafter, scattering six hits and an earned run over the next five frames in what was easily his most impressive performance in his last four outings.

In his final inning, however, Pelfrey did yield Hatteberg's go-ahead double, the eventual game-winner.

The Reds, who improved to 7-13 on the road, added on two runs in the eighth off reliever Duaner Sanchez on RBI singles by Hatteberg and Bako. Wright and Delgado committed back-to-back errors in the ninth, enabling Cincinnati to plate three more runs off Billy Wagner.

"We got to go out there and play a better second game," Wright said. "Arroyo pitched great, but to be the team we want to be - and we need to be - offensively we got to get a little more done. If we have to manufacture runs, we just got to do something. And then obviously defensively we didn't help our pitching staff towards the end."