Tom Glavine earned his 298th win with a superb performance, and Lastings Milledge’s tiebreaking single with two outs in the eighth inning sent the New York Mets to a 2-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday night.
Glavine (8-6) allowed only two hits, including Brandon Phillips’ homer, in eight innings. He struck out five and walked none, improving to 27-12 against Cincinnati. The two-time Cy Young Award winner is closing in on becoming the 22nd major league pitcher to win 300 games.
Shawn Green hit an RBI single and scored the go-ahead run for the Mets, who won for the fourth time in 11 games this month.
Phillips opened the second with his 19th homer and second in two games. He hit a first-inning grand slam and drove in six runs during Cincinnati’s 8-4 victory Friday night.
The Reds fell to 6-3 since interim manager Pete Mackanin replaced the fired Jerry Narron on July 1.
Matt Belisle held New York in check for seven innings, nearly preventing Glavine from taking home a win. The right-hander stranded eight runners before the Mets came through against reliever Mike Stanton (1-3).
Green hit a two-out double in the eighth and Milledge bounced the next pitch up the middle to give the Mets a 2-1 lead. Glavine was then lifted for a pinch-hitter, and Billy Wagner worked the ninth for his 19th save in 20 chances.
David Wright singled leading off the sixth, stole second and scored on Green’s two-out single to tie it 1-all.
After Phillips’ homer in the second, Glavine retired 16 in a row before Ken Griffey Jr. singled down the right-field line with one out in the seventh. Griffey was erased on a fielder’s choice by Phillips, who was thrown out trying to steal second by catcher Paul Lo Duca.
Belisle scattered nine singles, but the only one that did any damage was Green’s broken-bat hit. He struck out six and walked two.
Glavine was helped by two excellent defensive plays in the sixth. Second baseman Ruben Gotay went far into right field to catch Belisle’s blooper, and shortstop Jose Reyes scooped up a grounder that third baseman Wright was unable to reach. Reyes threw out Ryan Freel to end the inning.
