NEW YORK (Interstat) — Chase Burns tossed 5 1/3 strong innings and won his fourth straight start Tuesday night for the Cincinnati Reds, who beat the New York Mets 7-2 at Citi Field.

Burns allowed four hits and two earned runs while striking out eight, improving to 7-1 on the season. The rookie right-hander has won each of his last four outings, including victories over the Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Nationals in his two previous starts. He threw 58 strikes among his 96 pitches, with 19 balls and 19 balls in play.

The Reds, who improved to 29-25, broke the game open early with a two-run first inning and a three-run fourth. The Mets fell to 22-33, dropping 11 games under .500 and tying a season-high. New York has lost five straight and scored only six runs in that span while collecting 25 hits. The losing streak is the Mets’ second-longest of the season behind a 12-game skid from April 8-21.

Cincinnati took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Blake Dunn walked to lead off the game. After Elly De La Cruz struck out, Sal Stewart singled to center field. Spencer Steer walked to load the bases. Eugenio Suárez then doubled sharply to center, driving in Stewart and Steer. Dane Myers singled to left, but Suárez was thrown out at home by left fielder MJ Melendez to end the inning.

The Reds added three more runs in the fourth. Dane Myers led off with a single. JJ Bleday singled, moving Myers to second. Tyler Stephenson singled to right, scoring Myers and sending Bleday to third. Matt McLain reached on a fielder’s choice, with Bleday out at third. Dunn grounded out, moving Stephenson to third and McLain to second. De La Cruz then doubled to right, driving in Stephenson and McLain. Stewart struck out to end the inning.

Cincinnati scored a run in the sixth. Bleday singled to left, and Stephenson doubled to left, scoring Bleday. Stephenson advanced to third on a throwing error by shortstop Bo Bichette. McLain popped out, Dunn struck out, and De La Cruz struck out to strand Stephenson.

The Reds added a final run in the eighth. Blake Dunn singled, and De La Cruz singled to right, sending Dunn to third. Stewart singled to right, scoring Dunn. Steer struck out to end the inning.

The Mets got on the board in the sixth. Carson Benge grounded out. Bo Bichette singled sharply to center. Juan Soto then homered to right-center, his 11th of the season, driving in Bichette and cutting the lead to 5-2. A.J. Ewing singled, but Mark Vientos grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Burns exited after allowing the home run, having thrown 5 1/3 innings. Sam Moll relieved and got the final two outs of the sixth, striking out two and allowing no hits over 1 2/3 innings. Brock Burke got one out in the eighth, Tony Santillan pitched a scoreless eighth, and Pierce Johnson worked a perfect ninth, allowing one hit.

Sean Manaea pitched three innings of relief for the Mets, allowing three hits and one earned run while striking out six. A.J. Minter allowed one hit in a scoreless seventh with two strikeouts. David Peterson took the loss, falling to 3-5. Peterson gave up seven hits and five earned runs over four innings, walking three and striking out four.

The most important part of the game occurred in the top of the first inning, when Eugenio Suárez’s two-run double off Peterson staked the Reds to an early lead. That swing gave Cincinnati immediate control and set a tone the Mets could not overcome. Suárez finished 2 for 5 with two RBIs. De La Cruz also drove in two runs, going 2 for 5 with a double. Stephenson had two hits and two RBIs.

For the Mets, Soto’s two-run homer was the only offensive highlight. He went 1 for 4. The Mets managed just five hits total, with Bichette, Ewing, Luis Torrens, and Soto accounting for the other four. New York struck out 13 times as a team.

Attendance was 36,848. The game lasted 2 hours, 56 minutes.

Cincinnati has now won two straight games after Monday’s 7-2 victory in the series opener. The Reds are 4-1 on their current road trip. New York has lost five in a row dating to a 2-1 win at Washington on May 21.

The teams conclude their two-game series Wednesday night at Citi Field. Cincinnati then returns home to host the Atlanta Braves for a three-game weekend set. New York opens a home series against the Miami Marlins on Friday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Cincinnati 4, New York 3. Interstat’s ELO system gave the Mets a 52 percent probability to win. Cincinnati entered as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total of nine runs went under the over-under line of 7.5.