Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports

The Mets defeated the Cincinnati Reds 2-1 on Wednesday night at Great American Ball Park behind a dominant outing from Justin Verlander. The regining AL Cy Young winner pitched seven innings allowing just one run, and Pete Alonso homered for the second consecutive game.

The Mets’ first-inning woes continued on Wednesday night. After Hunter Greene struck out the side in order in the top of the first, the Reds scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the inning. After a leadoff single by Jonathan India, Jake Fraley connected for an RBI double that nearly cleared the wall for a two-run home run. The Mets got out of the inning thanks to a poor base running by Tyler Stephenson and a heads-up play by Francisco Álvarez. With runners on the corners and an 0-2 count on Nick Senzel, Stephenson took off, attempting to get in a rundown so the runner on third could come home. Álvarez faked his thro and looked the runner back to third, then with Stephenson not running, he threw the Reds’ catcher out at second base.

After the first inning, the game was all Mets. Alonso wasted no time getting the Mets back even in the top of the second inning, hitting Greene’s first pitch slider over the left field fence to tie the game 1-1. The home run was Alonso’s 13th of the season, putting him back in the MLB lead.

The Mets had an opportunity to take their first lead of the series after Brett Baty was hit by a pitch and Daniel Vogelbach singled. Luis Guillorme sliced a ball to left field, but Fraley made a sliding catch to rob the Mets’ second baseman of an RBI hit.

The Mets had chances to take the lead in the second and third, getting a runner into scoring position in both innings but failing to score. In the fourth inning, they finally cashed in. With two outs, a double from Guillorme and a walk by Álvarez brought Brandon Nimmo to the plate. The Mets’ center fielder worked a seven-pitch at-bat before singling to right field to drive in Guillorme and give the Mets a 2-1 lead.

For the second straight outing, Verlander bounced back from a shaky first inning and hit his stride in the second. He retired eight straight batters before a two-out walk in the fourth inning, then pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the fifth inning. The Reds nearly got their third hit of the game from Henry Ramos, but Jeff McNeil made a sliding catch to rob the Reds’ designated hitter of a bloop single.

Verlander took the mound for the seventh inning after retiring 15 of the last 16 batters he had faced. Despite being at 91 pitches in just his second start of the season, the seventh inning was Verlander’s best. He pitched another perfect frame, and struck out two batters in the inning. His fastball was up to 97 MPH, and he struck out Senzel on a devastating curveball to finish his night.

The Mets had another opportunity to get insurance in the top of the eighth inning but were unable to add to their lead. After Vogelbach and Guillorme both got their second hits of the night, Álvarez came to the plate with runners on the corners and two outs. Álvarez came into the game hitting .308 over his last 15 games and worked a walk in an impressive at-bat against Greene earlier in the night, but the 21-year-old chased three sliders out of the strike zone to strand the runners on base.

With Verlander’s night done, the Mets turned to Adam Ottavino for the bottom of the eighth inning. He struck out Wil Myers before retiring the next two batters on 3-1 ground outs to send the Mets to the ninth inning with the lead.

David Robertson came into the game in the ninth inning looking for his seventh save of the season. Despite the first two batters working full counts, Robertson struck both hitters out before retiring Spencer Steer on a fly out to close out a much-needed Mets’ win.

Player of the Game: Justin Verlander

With the rotation being the Mets’ biggest issue in the beginning of the season, Verlander gave the Mets exactly what they needed on Wednesday night. The three-time Cy Young Award winner was nearly perfect after the first inning, retiring 18 of the final 19 hitters he faced. In typical Verlander fashion, he got better as the game went on, striking out four of the last five batters he faced. With the victory over the Reds, Verlander has now recorded wins against all 30 MLB teams.

On Deck

The Mets will take on the  Reds in the rubber match of their three-game series at 12:35 p.m. ET on Thursday at Great American Ball Park. Kodai Senga (4-1, 3.38 ERA) will make his seventh start of the season for the Mets.

Despite allowing four more walks in his last start, Senga held the Rockies to just two hits over six innings and picked up the win in a 1-0 Mets victory in his last start on May 5.

The game will be broadcast on SNY, and the radio broadcast will be on WCBS 880.