Mets vs. Cardinals recap: Syndergaard struggles with command, offense falls short

The Mets lost the first game of a doubleheader against the Cardinals today 3-2. The Mets fell behind early, and though they managed to get men on base in all but two innings (the second and seventh), they never managed to tie the game.

Nothing came easy to Noah Syndergaard today, as he was without his best command. He worked around a one-out single to collect three strikeouts in the first inning, but loaded the bases in the second inning on three singles (two of the infield variety). Syndergaard then induced a comebacker from Carlos Martinez, but bounced his throw to the plate, allowing Yadier Molina to score. The Cardinals added two more runs on a Matt Adams walk and a Jedd Gyorko home run.

The Mets’ fortunes turned somewhat in the fourth inning. Syndergaard again allowed men on base, but after Tommy Pham was called out at third on an overturned call, Syndergaard struck out Aledmys Diaz to escape trouble. In the bottom half, Asdrubal Cabrera reached first on a replay-proven hit-by-pitch, and Rene Rivera got the Mets on the board with a two-run home run. The Mets managed to coax two more walks out of a visibly perturbed Carlos Martinez before Cespedes grounded out to end the threat.

Syndergaard escaped the fifth inning unscathed due to help from his defense, when Matt Adams was thrown out at home by Kelly Johnson after a Molina double. Terry Collins surprised the SNY booth by sending Syndergaard out for the sixth even though he had already reached 103 pitches, and Syndergaard silenced naysayers by recording his first one-two-three inning.

Both bullpens recorded nothing but zeroes for the game. Hansel Robles, Jerry Blevins, Erik Goeddel, and Antonio Bastardo shut the Cardinals down in the seventh-through-ninth innings, while the Mets were held in check in the sixth-through-eighth by Tyler Lyons and Kevin Siegrist. Curtis Granderson led off the ninth with a single against Cardinals closer Seung Hwan Oh, but was promptly thrown out trying to reach second base when Cespedes flew out to the center field warning track on the first pitch he saw. James Loney then quietly grounded out to end the game.

The Mets will look for revenge in the second half of the doubleheader.