CINCINNATI -- Robert Stephenson said he feels less pressure in the major leagues than he did in the minors.Sure looks that way.Stephenson struck out nine in 5 1/3 innings, but he also yielded two homers and the Cincinnati Reds lost 5-0 to Bartolo Colon and the New York Mets on Monday.Stephenson, one of Cincinnatis top prospects, allowed two runs and six hits, falling short in his bid to become the first Reds pitcher since Wayne Simpson in 1970 to win each of his first three major league starts.Its just confidence, Stephenson said of his early success in the majors. Theres less pressure. Im not trying to get back to this level. Im already here. Now Im just trying to have fun.The 23-year-old Stephenson (2-1), a first-round pick in the 2011 draft, went 8-9 with a 4.41 ERA with Triple-A Louisville this season. But he beat Philadelphia and Colorado in a pair of spot starts in April and picked up Monday right where he left off, delighting manager Bryan Price.He commanded the bottom of the zone with his fastball and changeup and threw a handful of breaking balls when he was behind in the count, which you have to do, Price said. He did a nice job.Colon pitched six innings of five-hit ball as the Mets won for the sixth time in eight games. Matt Reynolds and Kelly Johnson homered in New Yorks 12th straight victory against Cincinnati.Colon (13-7) improved to 4-1 with a 2.25 ERA in his last seven starts. The Reds put a runner on third with nobody out on two occasions, and Colon wiggled out of the jam each time.New York had a short turnaround after a 5-1 victory over Washington on Sunday night, but the 43-year-old Colon traveled to Cincinnati ahead of the team and it looks as if the rest paid off. He struck out two and walked one.Jay Bruce went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts in his first game in Cincinnati since the Reds traded him to the Mets on Aug. 1.It was a bit odd, coming over to the visiting side for the first time, Bruce said. Definitely odd being on the other side, but once the first pitch is thrown, its just baseball.Reynolds, recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas before the game, hit his third homer of the season with one out in the third inning. He also had an RBI single in New Yorks three-run seventh and finished with three hits.Johnson led off the fifth with his 10th homer.The Mets have hit 18 home runs in their last 11 games at Great American Ball Park and 185 overall this season for their best total since the 2006 team set the franchise record with 200.GRACIOUS HOSTSThe Reds honored Bruce and his wife, Hannah, in a pregame ceremony for his contributions to the team on the field and the couples work in the community during his nearly nine seasons with Cincinnati.AMBITIOUSNew Yorks Wilmer Flores was thrown out by left fielder Adam Duvall trying to stretch hits in each of his first two at bats, at second in the first inning and at third in the fourth. Duvall is the first Cincinnati outfielder with two assists in one game since Bruce on Aug. 5, 2014, at Cleveland, according to the Reds.DOUBLE TROUBLEAfter tying their season high by hitting into four double plays in a 5-2 loss to St. Louis on Sunday, the Reds hit into double plays in each of the first two innings on Monday against the Mets.TRAINERS ROOMReds: 2B Brandon Phillips returned to the starting lineup after being scratched each of the previous two days with a sore left foot.UP NEXTMets RHP Rafael Montero (0-0) and Reds LHP Brandon Finnegan (8-10) are scheduled to start on Tuesday. Finnegan has limited opposing batters to a .132 average (9 for 68) over his last three starts. Wholesale MLB Jerseys . Irving scored 23 points, Tristan Thompson had 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Cavaliers beat the Denver Nuggets 117-109 on Friday night. Cheap MLB Jerseys China . Now that hes hitting streaking teammates with pin-point passes for easy layups, Love is asserting himself as one of the true superstars in the league. http://www.cheapmlbjerseysoutlet.com/?tag=cheap-philadelphia-phillies-jerseys . -- Nate Robinson has played for seven teams, so beating one of them is no longer a rare occurrence. Cheap Los Angeles Dodgers Jerseys . Brad Jacobs and his Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., team took control of the game early. Cheap Seattle Mariners Jerseys . John Tavares, Thomas Vanek and Kyle Okposo were also being counted on to slow down sizzling Rangers forward Rick Nash. That plan didnt go so well early. MADRID -- Even rivals are coming out to defend Neymar after his late-game antics got him into trouble in the Spanish league.The Brazil forward use his ball trickery in Barcelonas 5-1 win over Leganes last week, prompting a wave of criticism from people who accused him of showing off and trying to provoke opponents. Neymar appeared to ignore the un-written convention that top players should not make lesser opponents look foolish.Three key former players who turned coaches supported Neymar on Tuesday, the day before Barcelonas game against rival Atletico Madrid.Neymar has fun playing football. They can criticize him as much as they want, but he responds where he needs to respond, Atletico coach Diego Simeone said. He has his own style. He is an extraordinary player.With the victory safely secured on Saturday, Neymar used back-heel passes and other nifty moves against Leganes defenders. He scored one of the teams goals in the 44th minute and was fouled inside the area -- leading to a penalty kick converted by Lionel Messi in the 55th.Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said he didnt think Neymar was disrespecting his opponents.I dont think he is trying to provoke anybody, the former France midfielder said. He can do things that not a lot of players can do. You would have to ask him directly, but I dont think its a provocation.Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said Neymars style shouldnt surprise anybody.He has been playing like this since he got here, Luis Enrique said. And we want him to keep his playing like this, we enjoy it. He is allowed by the rules to do what he does.---RENEWED RIVALRYBarcelona is bracing for another hard-fought match against Atletico Madrid.The teams meet Wednesday in the first big game of the season in Spain -- the first encounter between the clubs since Atletico eliminated Barcelona in the quarterfinals of last seasons Champions League.Theres never an easy match against Atletico. Its practically the same team that has succeeded in receent years, and it will continue to contend for titles, Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said.dddddddddddd Its a direct rival. These are very important points that will be up for grabs.Barcelona is second in the standings with nine points, three less than leader Real Madrid. Atletico is fourth, four points behind Madrid after four rounds.Both teams have their top players available and are boosted by huge wins.Barcelona was stunned at home by promoted Alaves two weeks ago but rebounded with a 5-1 rout of Leganes on Saturday. It also trounced Celtic 7-0 in the Champions League. Atletico began the league with consecutive draws but picked up the pace with a 4-0 win at Celta Vigo and a 5-0 thrashing of Sporting Gijon.We will need to defend very well because Barcelona has a tremendous offensive power, said Simeone, who has never won at the Camp Nou as a coach.---REINFORCED MADRIDCristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale are expected to return to Real Madrids starting lineup for the game against unbeaten Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday. The Spanish powerhouse has a chance to set a record with its 17th straight league victory. Madrid is tied with Pep Guardiolas Barcelona from the 2010-11 season, which won 16 in a row.The record is nice and we will try to achieve it, especially because we want to keep adding points, coach Zinedine Zidane said.Madrid is the only team to have won all four matches to start the league and has a three-point lead over Barcelona and Las Palmas.Ronaldo and Bale were rested in the teams 2-0 win at Espanyol on Sunday after a hard-fought 2-1 win over Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League.Zidane will not be able to count on defender Pepe because of a knee injury sustained at Espanyol.---Tales Azzoni on Twitter: http://twitter.com/tazzoni. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/tales-azzoni Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys cheap jerseys Cheap Jersyes Cheap Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys cheap jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '