Cardinals 7 Mets 4 (Citi Field, Flushing, NY)
Mets record: 13-13
Mets streak: Lost 2
WP - Sonny Gray (3-1)
LP - Adrian Houser (0-3)
SV - Ryan Helsley (9)
Seat on the Korner:
We select the star of the game and virtually invite him to a Seat on the Korner, just as Ralph Kiner used to do for his studio postgame show on WOR-channel 9 broadcasts in the early decades of the Mets.
Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray kept the Mets off-balance for most of the game, yielding 1 earned run over 6 innings with 9 strikeouts for the win.
Need to Know
The Mets debuted their City Connect uniform tonight. They plan to wear their new threads for every Saturday home game for the rest of the season, except on June 1 when they retire Darryl Strawberry's number 18.
The Cardinals opened things up early with 4 runs in the first inning and holding onto the lead from there.
Mets starting pitcher Adrian Houser had a rough outing, giving up 6 runs, all earned, on 9 hits with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts in 4.1 innings.
Brandon Nimmo had 2 hits including a 2-RBI single and also scored a run on a Pete Alonso home run, the 200th of his career. Alonso became the fourth Mets player to hit 200 home runs with the team.
Mark Vientos, who was just called up today when Starling Marte was added to the bereavement list, got his first hit of the season, a single in his second at-bat.
Reliever Dedniel Núñez, who was also just called up today when Drew Smith was placed on the 15-day IL with shoulder inflammation, face 4 batters, walking 1 and striking out the other 3.
Turning Point
Right from the get-go, starter Adrian Houser was in trouble, giving up three straight hits and a run to start the game, and was soon followed by a 2-run double from Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. A Masyn Winn single two batters later made the score 4-0 before the Mets had even come to bat.
Three Keys
Yo Adrian!
Adrian Houser, who is widely considered a ground ball specialist, had trouble getting his pitches down. Of the 9 hits he gave up, 4 were doubles. And after getting through the first 2 batters in the top of the 5th, he gave up 2 straight singles before being replaced by lefty reliever Josh Walker, who subsequently balked the 6th run home.
Mets Did Not Go Quietly
Despite being down 6-0, the Mets showed some fight by rallying for 4 runs in the bottom of the 5th, taking advantage of a Nolan Arendao error, a walk, and a wild pitch. With 2nd and 3rd and 1 out, Brandon Nimmo lined a 2-run single to left to drive home two. After a Francisco Lindor strikeout (more on that in a moment), Pete Alonso launched a 403-foot home run to make the score 6-4. The Mets mounted a 2-out rally in the 9th but were ultimately foiled by a...
Rough Day for Lindor
Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor who has been showing signs of breaking out of his season-long slump recently, took a big step back today with an 0-5 game with 4 strikeouts. In the 8th inning, Cardinals catcher Wilson Contreras couldn't hold onto Lindor's third strike, Lindor ran to first and appeared to be safe, however home plate umpire Eric Bacchus called him out for running out of the basepath. Instead of having the leadoff batter on and Alonso up as the potential tying run, Lindor had his 4th K and Alonso came up with one out and nobody on base.
Lindor had a chance to redeem himself in the 9th inning when he stepped to the plate with the tying runs on and 2 outs, but ended the game with a popout to shallow center field, on a play that looked surprisingly tough for Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn.