Final Score: Cardinals 10, Mets 5—Matz the way the cookie crumbles

Carlos Carrasco’s first inning woes threatened to reappear in St. Louis, as with two outs, three straight batters reached base on two singles and a very dubious error charged to Francisco Lindor. The third—Corey Dickerson—staked the Cardinals to an early 1-0 lead.

The Mets answered right back in the top of the second against old friend Steven Matz. After Pete Alonso and Eduardo Escobar led off with back-to-back singles, Matz recorded two outs and seemed poised to escape the jam. In a scene familiar to Mets fans, Matz seemed to unravel a bit after he was unable to field a Luis Guillorme ground ball that left the bases loaded. Tomas Nido and Brandon Nimmo followed with two RBI doubles to give the Mets a 4-1 lead.

While the Mets would get no more against Matz—who would last only four innings against his former team—the Cardinals would inch to within one in the bottom of the third on a two-run single by Nolan Arenado before exploding for 5 runs against Carrasco in the bottom of the fourth to put the Mets in an 8-4 hole.

New York would get no closer as the Cardinals would avoid the series sweep, though the game was not devoid of late game intrigue, as J. D. Davis was plunked in the ankle in the top of the eighth inning—the 19th Met to be hit by a pitch on the young season—causing him to leave the game. The Mets retaliated in the bottom of the inning when Yoan Lopez came in high and tight to Arenado, prompting a bench clearing brawl.

Full recap to follow.