The New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds began a four game series at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, OH Thursday night with the Mets closing in on a playoff berth.

The Mets are just 4-6 in their last 10 games, but Thursday they got a much needed win as their magic number is reduced to just three games.

The Reds did crack the scoreboard first in this one right off of the bat in first inning. Brandon Phillips singled to left and the slide by Ivan de Jesus Jr. just beat the throw from left fielder Michael Conforto to put Cincinnati up 1-0 early on.

It stayed that way until the third inning when the Mets cashed in for three runs in the frame. It started with a double David Wright that scored Steven Matz. Then, Yoenis Cespedes who just keeps hitting, hit a sac fly to score Wright when he moved up to third. Finally, Lucas Duda doubled to right scoring Daniel Murphy and that had the Mets up 3-1.

That was all the damage New York did against Reds starter Josh Smith who lasted five innings giving up three runs on seven hits while striking out five and walking one.

Then in the bottom of the fifth, the Reds inched a little closer as Brandon Phillips singled to score Ramon Cabrera to make it 3-2. In the sixth, Cincinnati tied it up at three when Adam Duvall singled to score Eugenio Suarez which ended Steven Matz's night.

New York did get a solid outing from their rookie starter Steven Matz as he went 5.2 innings giving up three runs on 10 hits while striking out eight. In addition, at the plate he was 1-for-2 with a run scored.

It was then in the seventh that the Mets really got it going and took control of this one. It started when Daniel Murphy shot an RBI triple to right scoring Curtis Granderson. That was immediately followed by a an RBI single by who else, but Yoenis Cespedes. Finally, Lucas Duda concluded the scoring in the inning as he doubled to score Cespedes and cap off their second three-run inning of the night to make it 6-3.

The Reds tried to get back in this one as Jay Bruce hit a solo home run in the eighth to make it 6-4, but the Mets bullpen shut them down.

Jeurys Familia did appear in the bottom of the ninth to shut things down and had an easy 1-2-3 inning to earn his 42nd save on the season.

The Mets on offense were led by Daniel Murphy who was 3-for-5 with an RBI and two run scored. Cespedes and Duda also checked in with multi-hit nights. As for the Reds, Eugenio Suarez, Joey Votto, and Brandon Phillips all had two hits on the night.

The series continues Friday as Noah Syndergaard will go for Mets against Anthony DeSclafani of the Reds.

WP: Erik Goeddel (1-1, 2.64 ERA)

LP: Manny Parra (1-2, 3.86 ERA)

SV: Jeurys Familia (42 saves, 1.90 ERA)