Another One for the Birds

Cardinals 9 Mets 2 (Citi Field, Flushing NY)

Mets record: 29-38

Mets streak: Lost 2

WP - Andre Pallante (7-4)

LP - Austin Warren (1-3)

Seat on the Korner: Jordan Walker

We select a Star of the Game and virtually invite him to take his Seat on the Korner — just as Ralph Kiner did on WOR-TV Channel 9 during the early days of the New York Mets.

Continuing the tradition of Rheingold Beer sponsoring Kiner’s Korner, this season every seat is proudly presented by The Main Event Restaurant & Sports Bar.

With locations in Plainview and Farmingdale, The Main Event features 80+ HD TVs, fresh daily seafood, and Black Angus certified steaks—so you never have to choose between great food and the big game.

Just one season ago it looked like Jordan Walker was headed towards a "never-was" type of career, as indicated by a paltry .584 OPS along with myriad other disappointing statistics. The story has been quite different this year, and tonight was just another stop on what may be a road to stardom. As for tonight, Walker earned his seat on the corner by going 2-5 with HR and 4 RBIs. His first inning RBI single gave the Cardinals an early lead (more about this below), and his 4th inning 3-run home run extended the lead to 7-0, essentially cementing another route. The home run was his 17th of the season, a new career high.

Walker is now batting .303 with 17 home runs, 52 RBIs, 10 stolen bases, and a .926 OPS this season.

Need to Know

• The game was the second in a six-game homestand: one more against the Cardinals tomorrow and three against the division-leading Braves this weekend.

• After making four trips to the West Coast in their first 65 games, the Mets play their next 34 in the Eastern time zone.

• The Mets are 7-5 over their last 12 games, and 20-16/19-17 over their last 36.

• Tonight was Austin Warren's second start of the season, and second of his career.

• Mets pitchers had 7 strikeouts tonight, giving them 608 on the season. They rank 4th in the National League and 6th in MLB.

• Cardinals starter Andre Pallante held the Mets to 2 runs on 3 hits over 6 innings pitched. In his previous start against the Mets (on 3/31) he pitched 5 scoreless innings, also allowing just 3 hits.

• AJ Ewing went 0-2, with a walk, ending his hitting streak at 6 games.

• Christian Scott takes the mound for the series finale, a Thursday, an afternoon game.

  
  

Turning Point

When a team's offense has been struggling like the Mets have virtually all season, virtually any deficit can seem daunting. So when Jordan Walker's 1-out RBI single gave the Cardinals an early 1-0 lead, it seemed like a tall mountain for the Mets to climb. And it was, as the Mets never came back.

Three Keys

Peterson's Poor Performance

Coming into today's game, the splits between David Peterson the starter and David Peterson the reliever were remarkably stark. As a starting pitcher, Peterson is 1-5 with a 7.56 ERA. Prior to today, the relief pitcher version of Peterson was 2-0 with a 1.88 ERA. So it would be easy to understand why Peterson's appearance on the mound to start the second inning gave the Mets a reason to hope. That all fell apart in the third inning, and by the time the 5th inning came to a close, Peterson had 6 runs on 7 hits including 2 home runs, while walking 2 and striking out 1. Peterson's season ERA jumped from 5.18 to 5.75.

The lefty didn't factor in the official decision, it was Austin Warren who was tagged with the actual loss, but Peterson's rough night certainly contributed to the Mets downfall.

Keep the Comeback Coming

Last night, Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez made his return after a 4-week stint on the IL due to a torn meniscus. While the quick healing was in itself remarkable, it looks like Alvarez hasn't lost a step, which is even more mind-boggling. Francisco singled in his first at-bat last night, and tonight he hit his first home run since April 11th. The 2-run shot ended a scoreless streak at 13 innings.

Fun on the Farm

On Tueday night, Mets minor league pitchers Cam Tilly and Elwis Mijares combined for the St. Lucie Mets first no-hitter in almost 23 years. Tilly went 6.1 innings striking out 4 without giving up a hit (obviously). Mijares relieved him with 3 strikeouts in 2.2 hitless innings of his own against the Palm Beach Cardinals. The St. Lucie Mets were 7-0 winners.