Mets roll to ninth straight win as Jose Quintana picks up 100th career victory

There will be no Jeff McNeil for at least the rest of the regular season, and there were no hits through the first 4 ²/₃ innings.No problem for the Mets, who are doing everything right at the right time of the season.The Mets silenced the Reds behind excellence from Jose Quintana — who picked up his 100th career win — and their bullpen, needing just one big inning to run their win streak to nine with a 4-0 shutout at Citi Field on a crisp Saturday that felt like fall.A crowd of 34,048 had to wait an extra 66 minutes for the game to begin after a rain delay and had to wait about another hour and a half for a sniff of offense, but it was the Mets’ bats that eventually broke through with a four-run sixth inning.A difficult day for the team, which lost McNeil to a fractured wrist, gave way to yet another optimistic night for its playoff odds.Carlos Mendoza’s group was awaiting the result of a late Braves game but gained a game on the Diamondbacks, now just half a game out of the second NL wild-card spot.The Mets (78-64) are a victory away from a perfect homestand and a third consecutive sweep, finding ways to survive games in seemingly a different fashion each night.

Saturday their starter was impeccable, bullpen untouched, defense excellent and bats good enough in a strong, all-around effort.Quintana, who is gunning for a playoff start in a crowded rotation, was terrific for a third straight turn, holding the Reds to five hits and two walks in 6 ²/₃ scoreless innings.After a brutal stretch in August, the lefty has pitched 18 innings in three starts and let up just one earned run, his ERA sinking to 4.09.He was not perfect Saturday, but he was when he needed to be.Cincinnati batters went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position against Quintana, who leaned heavily on his infield.

A diving Jose Iglesias (suddenly the everyday second baseman) smothered a sharp ground ball from Ty France that jump-started a second-inning double play; an inning later, it was...