Edwin Diaz got into and out of a none-out, bases-loaded jam in the ninth inning Friday night, when he closed out a 5-4 win for the visiting New York Mets over the Cincinnati Reds in the opener of a three-game series between the National League wild card contenders.

The Mets (76-65), who entered Friday with a four-game lead over the San Francisco Giants in the race for the last wild card, won for the third time in four games.

The Reds (70-71) fell to an NL-worst 6-13 since Aug. 15 and dropped six games behind the Mets. Cincinnati also slipped under .500 for the first time since it was 32-33 on June 7.

The Mets led 4-0 and 5-1 before the Reds scored three times in the fifth against David Peterson (9-5). Ryne Stanek, Brooks Raley and Tyler Rogers combined for 2 2/3 innings of one-hit ball

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