Queens Flush: Soto Takes JoJo Deep as Mets Beat the Cards, 5-4

Mets 5 Cards 4 (Citi Field, Flushing NY)

Mets record: 30-38

Mets streak: Won 1

WP - Brooks Raley (2-1)

LP - JoJo Romero (0-2)

S- Devin Williams (9)

Seat on the Korner: Jared Young

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.

Juan Soto delivered the knockout punch, but Jared Young spent the afternoon setting the table.

The Mets first baseman accounted for two of the club's five runs, blasting a solo homer in the first inning and later delivering the game-tying RBI single in the fifth that allowed Soto to play hero two innings later. In a one-run game, those contributions proved every bit as important as the final swing.

Young finished the day with two hits, two RBI and a run scored, continuing what has quietly become one of the better comeback stories on the Mets roster. Since returning from the injured list, Young has provided a steady offensive spark, and Wednesday's performance was another reminder of his value. His fourth homer of the season gave the Mets an early answer after St. Louis grabbed a 1-0 lead, and his RBI single tied the game at 4-4 after the Cardinals had spent much of the afternoon protecting a slim advantage.

The numbers continue to trend upward. Through 25 games this season, Young is now hitting .288 with eight extra-base hits and nine RBI, while batting over .300 since returning to action. He may not command the headlines that Soto does, but on this day, Young's fingerprints were all over the Mets' victory. Instead of rewarding Jared with a case of Rheingold, Ralph is upgrading the farewell package to a case of Labatt Blue—a fitting tribute to a Canadian who helped the Mets play their cards right

Need to Know

• Prior to the game the Mets announced the following roster

  moves - RHP Jonathan Pintaro was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse

  following last night’s game...RHP Daniel Duarte has been recalled

  from Triple-A Syracuse.

• The Mets avoided their sixth sweep of the season...The Mets were last swept by the Cardinals from September 13-15, 2021 at Citi Field

• Through 18 career Major League starts, Christian Scott has allowed four or fewer runs in each of them...Scott is the only starting pitcher in franchise history to allow four or fewer runs in his first 18 Major League games...Five other Mets starters allowed four or fewer runs in 16 of their first 17 Major

  League games: Tom Seaver, Matt Harvey, Nolan McLean Kodai

  Senga and Zack Wheeler.

• After only allowing one home run in his eight prior starts this season, Christian Scott gave up three home runs in the first three innings of todays game.

• A.J. Ewing has reached base safely in each of his last

  eight games, batting .357 (10-28) with four runs, three doubles, three

  walks and three steals...In 28 games so far into his Major League

  career, Ewing is batting .263 (25-95) with 11 runs, three doubles, one

  triple, one home run, six RBI, 12 walks, seven steals

• St. Louis had won a season-best six straight for the second time in

  2026 (also April 27-May 2), marking their first season with multiple

  winning streaks of 6+ games since 2022 when they last made the post-

  season .

  
  
  
  

Turning Point

The Mets had fought way back from a 4-3 deficit and finally pulled even in the fifth, but momentum only matters if you do something with it.

Soto made sure they did.

Leading off the bottom of the seventh, the Mets superstar launched a 1-0 pitch into the right-center field seats for his 14th home run of the season, breaking a 4-4 tie and giving New York its first lead since the opening inning. The blast was Soto's 258th career home run, moving him one step closer to Frank Robinson's total of 262 before age 28.

The Mets spent five innings climbing out of the hole created by St. Louis' four-run second inning.

One Soto swing finally pushed them over the top.

Three Keys

Not Great Scott, More OK Scott

Christian Scott's afternoon was a tale of two innings. The right-hander entered the game riding plenty of momentum after earning victories in each of his previous two starts, including 5.2 scoreless innings against San Diego on June 5. He also came into the day having allowed just one home run through his first eight starts of the season. But the Cardinals jumped on him early. Alec Burleson led off the first inning with a homer, and St. Louis struck again in the second with two doubles and another pair of long balls, including Jimmy Crooks' two-run shot. Those first two innings accounted for all of the damage against Scott. To his credit, he settled down afterward, retiring hitters with authority and piling up six strikeouts before exiting with two outs in the fifth. His final line—4.2 innings, seven hits, four runs, one walk and six strikeouts—raised his ERA to 3.10, but it also extended an impressive streak. Through his first 18 major league starts, Scott has yet to allow more than four runs in any outing, a testament to his ability to limit damage even on days when he doesn't have his best stuff.

Perfect Pen(manship)

While Juan Soto supplied the game-winning swing and Jared Young provided much of the offensive support, the Mets bullpen deserves a major share of the credit for this victory. After Christian Scott exited with two outs in the fifth inning, four relievers combined to slam the door on St. Louis, tossing 4.1 scoreless innings while allowing no hits and just one walk. A.J. Minter recorded the final out of the fifth and breezed through the sixth, Brooks Raley worked around a seventh-inning walk, Luke Weaver retired all three batters he faced in the eighth, and Devin Williams closed things out with a pair of strikeouts in a perfect ninth. By the time the afternoon ended, the Cardinals had managed seven hits and all four of their runs against Scott in the first two innings, but were completely silenced by the Mets' relief corps the rest of the way. On a day when the offense had to battle back from an early deficit, the bullpen made sure that comeback wasn't wasted.

Run Prevention

Lost amid the home runs, comeback rallies and late-game heroics was a strong defensive effort that played a significant role in the Mets' 5-4 victory. Brett Baty made a really nice play at third base, showing off both his quick reactions and strong arm, while Jared Young was steady as ever at first, handling everything hit his way and helping the pitching staff convert key outs. In the outfield, A.J. Ewing covered plenty of ground in center field and made a pair of important catches on sharply hit balls, helping keep the Cardinals from building on their early lead. None of the plays will likely make the highlight reels or dominate the postgame conversation, but in a one-run game, the little things matter. The Mets' defense turned potential trouble into routine outs all afternoon, providing the kind of fundamentally sound baseball that often makes the difference between a win and a loss.