Juan Soto dashed home with the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, beating a throw to the plate on Luis Torrens’ sharp grounder to second base, and the New York Mets avoided a three-game sweep with a 3-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds.

In the ninth inning with two runners on base, Juan Soto hit a would be game-tying home run, but the ball hooked just foul and Reds closer Emilio Pagan lived to fight another day. He got Soto to strike out swinging later in the at-bat.

New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso avoided ending his streak of consecutive games played on Sunday. Alonso entered the team's clash with the Cincinnati Reds in the seventh inning after he was initially out of the starting lineup with a hand injury (h/t Will Sammon of The Athletic).

This was not a playoff team in October. Or a contender in September. This was the bad-bullpen, meh-lineup Nationals playing for nothing in July.

BOTTOM LINE: The New York Mets look to break their three-game home slide with a win against the Cincinnati Reds. New York has gone 33-16 at home and 55-44 overall. Mets pitchers have a collective 3.61 ERA, which ranks second in the NL.

New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso was held out of the starting lineup Sunday against the visiting Cincinnati Reds due to a right-hand contusion. Alonso has played in all 99 games this season for the Mets and has appeared in a franchise-record 353 consecutive regular-season games dating back to June 18,

The Cincinnati Reds fell 3-2 to the New York Mets on Sunday afternoon. After tying the game at two in the top of the eighth, the Mets scored the go-ahead run on an RBI groundout to take the lead back in the bottom half of the inning.

Preview the July 20 matchup between the New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds with odds over/under, game spread, betting lines and more.

Juan Soto scored the go-ahead run after Edwin Diaz gave up the tying run in the eighth inning in the Mets' 3-2 win over the Reds on Sunday.