Mets' bullpen back on track against Reds

The Mets' bullpen put up three scoreless innings in Thursday's 9-4 win over the Reds. That had to make general manager Sandy Alderson feel good.

Hours before the game, Alderson fielded questions about his struggling relievers. He had fired the first shot across the bullpen's bow late Wednesday night when he designated D.J. Carrasco for assignment and called up lefthander Robert Carson.

"The bullpen has been a frustration," Alderson said. "There's no question about that. We made an attempt to fix it and at this point it hasn't worked out as well as we'd like. On the other hand, there's plenty of season left and the guys that we have are not going to pitch as they have for the last few days for an entire season. That's not their history."

Jon Rauch, who was ineffective on Wednesday night, pitched a scoreless inning. So did Bobby Parnell in a game tied at 4. Closer Frank Francisco threw a scoreless ninth with the score 9-4. He allowed a walk and double.

Alderson said it's possible Jenrry Mejia could help down the road, but not before he goes through two starts at Double-A and two more at Triple-A. Mejia is one year removed from Tommy John surgery.

"We're still in a sense in the rehab phase with him," Alderson said. "When we get to the end of that two or four-start cycle, we'll decide what he'll do in terms of role and where he'll do it."