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CINCINNATI, Ohio — The opportunistic New York Mets pounced when the Cincinnati Reds made a couple of costly mistakes. Emeka Okafor Jersey . Anthony Recker and Curtis Granderson homered, and New York scored four unearned runs in a 4-3 victory over the Reds on Sunday. The four unearned runs were the most allowed by Cincinnati since June 27, 2012, according to the Reds. Nobody appreciated the gifts more than Mets manager Terry Collins. „You dont get many,“ he said. „Youve got to capitalize on that.“ Zach Wheeler (10-9) pitched six solid innings, improving to 7-1 with a 2.21 ERA over his last 13 starts. The right-hander allowed one run and five hits, struck out six and hit two batters. „I felt fine,“ he said. „I knew in the bullpen that I had good stuff today.“ The Reds began the day with a major league-low 62 errors. But centre fielder Billy Hamilton dropped a fly ball in New Yorks three-run sixth, and first baseman Jack Hannahan flubbed Grandersons foul popup in the eighth. Granderson then hit a solo shot for his 18th homer. „They make those plays 99.9 per cent of the time,“ Reds manager Bryan Price said. „We pretty much handed them all of their runs. Its a rarity, but it stinks when it happens.“ New York carried a 4-1 lead into the ninth, but Jay Bruce hit his 16th homer and Ryan Ludwick added an RBI single to get Cincinnati within one. The Reds had the bases loaded with two out when Jenrry Mejia struck out Devin Mesoraco for his 24th save, closing out a 4-2 road trip for the Mets. „We got the win,“ Collins said. „Thats what counts.“ Mat Latos struck out five in six innings for Cincinnati. He allowed three runs and seven hits. The Mets jumped on Latos (5-5) after Hamilton dropped Wilmer Flores fly ball on the warning track for a two-base error with one out in the sixth. Granderson followed with a tying RBI single. „It was one of those that was hit softer than I thought,“ Hamilton said. „I took one little peek at the wall. Thats what did it.“ After Dilson Herrera fouled out, Recker hit a drive off the facade of the second deck in left field for his sixth homer. Of Reckers 13 career home runs, 10 either have tied the game or given his team the lead, including five this season. Latos helped himself with a two-out single in the fifth. He came around to score on Skip Schumakers base hit. ROTATION CHANGE Collins announced that RHP Rafael Montero will start Wednesday against Colorado. Montero was recalled Friday from Triple-A Las Vegas. TRAVELING MAN Wheeler improved to 5-1 with a 2.08 ERA over his last 12 road starts. He has allowed one earned run or less in eight of those starts. TARNISHED GOLD Mets CF Juan Lagares committed just his third error of the season in 107 games. Hamilton committed just his second in 137 games. TRAINERS ROOM Mets: Rookie C Travis dArnaud got the day off. Reds: Todd Fraziers start on Sunday was his 19th straight since missing three games Aug. 15-17 with lower back problems. An All-Star third baseman, he had started eight of those games at first base. Jamal Mashburn Jersey .Martin Caceres marked his return from injury by scoring in the 3-1 win at Napoli and he believes Juventus sent out a warning to the rest of the league with that result.We go out on the pitch every game looking to give our all, Caceres said. Ryan Anderson Jersey . – Mathew Barzal scored 3:47 into overtime as the Seattle Thunderbirds downed the visiting Everett Silvertips 4-3 on Tuesday in Western Hockey League playoff action.TORONTO – Over a dozen cameras and upwards of 30 reporters gathered in the hallway on the third floor of the Air Canada Centre, jockeying for position outside the Raptors practice facility Tuesday afternoon. No, they were not staking out a spot for the playoffs, now 11 days away. They were not there to take in the teams final scheduled regular season practice. They were not on hand to inquire about the injured Kyle Lowry or Amir Johnson, both of whom had returned to the court. The gravity of Jonas Valanciunas drunk driving charge and arrest had transcended basketball, it was bigger than sport. It was news, and rightfully so. The Raptors starting centre was arrested early Monday morning for impaired driving in Wasaga Beach – roughly two hours north of Toronto – where he spent Sunday evening visiting friends. Valanciunas did not speak to the media Tuesday, as he had not yet met with his legal representatives, but those that did – GM Masai Ujiri, coach Dwane Casey and a couple of his veteran teammates – said all the right things. Understanding the severity of the 21-year-olds poor judgment, the organization made their message clear. Without condoning his actions, they stood united in support of their youngest player. „Like I told him, Im upset with him and disappointed in him but hes mine,“ said Casey. „So we love him.“ „He made a mistake, like any other young man has probably done before. We all make mistakes and its what we do after it [that] is how were going to be judged.“ The news of his arrest was surprising to those within the organization. Coaches, teammates and even fans have come to know the wide-eyed sophomore for his sincere, albeit quirky personality. Mondays events seemed out of character, to say the least. „Hes a great person, great kid,“ said Ujiri, maintaining Valanciunas hasnt, to his knowledge had prior plights with excessive alcohol use or bad decision making. „Weve never had any issues here with him, thats the honest truth.“ Valanciunas met with Ujiri for an hour on Monday. The following morning he sat down with Tim Leiweke and Larry Tanenbaum before addressing his coaches and teammates ahead of practice. „He sat in my office there yesterday,“ said the Raptors GM. „He knew, face in his hands, that he was sorry about it.“ „Hes very apologetic,“ Lowry echoed. „I mean hes sick right now. Hes really hurt by it, hes really embarrassed by it [and] very disappointed in himself. I can tell you that for sure.“ Per NBA policy, no punishment – from the league or the team – can be handed down until the legal process plays out. Althouggh the Raptors are unlikely to issue any supplementary discipline, the league will come down on Valanciunas with a suspension – of likely two games – when and if hes convicted or theres a plea of guilt. Custom New Orleans Pelicans Jerseys. The ramifications for Valanciunas – the player – are modest. Hell continue to play. Any suspension he faces wont take into effect until the beginning of next season, at the earliest. He will not be required to attend his initial court date on Apr. 22, shortly after the Raptors begin their first-round playoff series. Hes been enjoying one of the best stretches of his career and theres no reason why that shouldnt continue, assuming he can stave off the legal distractions that are likely to ensure. For Valanciunas – the person – the consequences are intricate. He has some damage control, some image repair to do. Most importantly, he has some growing up to do. In the last year, his second in the NBA, weve watched Valanciunas blossom on the court, sometimes losing sight of the fact that he is also growing and learning as a young man. Valanciunas – less than a month away from his 22nd birthday – made a mistake, a stupid one. Thankfully no one was hurt as a result. Given what we know about the young seven-footer its not hard to believe that the apology he made to his team, to his coaches, to the organization and fans was a sincere one. Some athletes, upon putting themselves in a similar predicament, have apologized mostly for being caught, which doesnt seem to be the case for a remorseful Valanciunas. What many of those other athletes havent had is the support system the Raptors can offer their young centre. Both Casey and Ujiri have positioned themselves as mentors and father figures, not only for Valanciunas but for all their players, while the teams locker room is filled with positive influences who have already begun to steer the sophomore in the right direction. „Be smart,“ Casey told him. „We all have to be smart. All of us have to be smart in what we do, how we carry ourselves off the floor, where we are [and] who we hang out with.“ „I talked to him and I made him understand that the things he did were wrong,“ Lowry said. „He just has to suffer the consequences that come with that.“ „Its unfortunate that it happened to such a good kid in JV,“ the 28-year-old point guard continued, „but it happened. Hes 21, hes going to learn from it and Im sure hes never going to make that mistake again.“ Ultimately, thats the true test, as Casey wisely pointed out. How does he learn from Mondays incident? Will he grow as a result of it? He made a mistake. What does he do next? ‚ ‚ ‚