Barajas' HR in ninth wins it for Mets

CINCINNATI - Rod Barajas didn't sign with the Mets until Feb. 22, and only to a minor-league deal. Even though it appeared he was going to be the No. 1 catcher when he signed, he wasn't added to the major-league roster until right before the season.

Barajas knew what he was getting into and the Mets knew what they were getting. A good receiver and game-caller with enough power to hit 19 home runs for the Blue Jays last season. But not their first choice.

The Mets first wanted Bengie Molina, but his heart was in San Francisco. So far, so good for them.

Barajas hit his team-leading seventh home run last night, a go-ahead blast with two outs in the ninth inning, to power the Mets to a 5-4 win over the Reds at Great American Ball Park.

"I didn't know exactly what we were getting," David Wright said of Barajas. "But he's really come in, and in the clubhouse and on the field has been tremendous."

Barajas' home run off Reds closer Francisco Cordero came on a first-pitch fastball. Barajas leads the Mets in home runs hitting mostly eighth in the lineup, a spot he really doesn't like because he often doesn't get challenged with the pitcher up next.

"It's working right now," he said. "I'm not going to say a word. Let's keep going with it."

The Mets ended a three-game losing streak after they had won eight in a row.

"It was huge for us," manager Jerry Manuel said. "Once you run off eight or so straight, you want to play .500 for a while until you run off another. You don't want to go to the negative side of that. In that sense, and on this road trip, that was a really big win for us."

The Reds had tied the score in the eighth on back-to-back home runs off Fernando Nieve to spoil what would have been a win for John Maine.

Nieve was the second Mets reliever of the night. Jenrry Mejia threw a perfect seventh inning before Manuel called on Nieve for the 17th time in the Mets' first 27 games and third day in a row.

Nieve, who threw two scoreless innings Monday, retired the first two Reds before Joey Votto hit a home run to center to make it 4-3.

Scott Rolen followed with a homer to right-center that a fan touched as it sailed into the first row. Angel Pagan made a leaping try, but the ball never got to him. It bounced off the fan and back onto the field; the umpires immediately ruled it a home run and confirmed their decision after a replay delay.

Maine allowed two runs (one earned) and four hits with two walks and six strikeouts. He has put together back-to-back six-inning, two-run starts since leaving his previous outing with pain in his non-pitching elbow.

"It's getting there," said Maine, whose fastball barely got over 90. "I guess it feels as good as it can. I guess 90 miles per hour feels as good as it can. I'd like to be throwing harder, but it's not happening right now."

Even so, Barajas said Maine's fastball seems to have late life, something it was lacking earlier in the season.

"Sometimes the ball moves away from the lefties, sometimes it stays straight and sometimes it seems like it almost rises a little bit," Barajas said. "It seems like he has a lot of deception. You keep calling fastball after fastball after fastball and these guys for some reason aren't catching up to it."