CINCINNATI -- Supremely talented, yet maddeningly erratic, Rafael Montero has spent the past four years perplexing the Mets with his flashes of brilliance and inability to maintain them. Perhaps, finally, his unevenness has come to an end. Montero continued his most consistent run as a big leaguer with 8 1/3 shutout innings Wednesday, leading the Mets to a 2-0 win over the Reds at Great American Ball Park.
Striking out eight and allowing just one hit through eight innings, Montero was uncharacteristically efficient against the Reds. That prompted manager Terry Collins to send his starter out for the ninth at 104 pitches, but the decision backfired when Montero allowed consecutive one-out hits to put the tying runs in scoring position.