Final Score: Mets 11 Cardinals 4 - A comfortable, anxious win

In a win that should feel a whole lot better than it actually does, the Mets topped the Cardinals 11-4. Beating the hated redbirds is always a plus, but the evening was dampened by Max Scherzer pulling himself out of the game in the middle of an at bat with an apparent injury. Subsequent updates indicated it was only tightness in his left side or back, but anytime you have a 37-year-old pitcher walking off with the mound with an injury there’s going to be some concern.

Anyway, the offense was quite good in this one, stringing together hits as part of multiple rallies. Pete Alonso capped things off with a three-run laser in the bottom of the eighth to put the game safely out of reach. Jeff McNeil had two hits, Brandon Nimmo walked and tripled, and even Dom Smith managed an RBI single. Perhaps most encouragingly, Francisco Lindor walked twice and singled, showing some hopeful signs of breaking out of his recent malaise (though he struck out in his other plate appearance).

The win pushed the Mets to 25-14 on the season and ensures they won’t lose back-to-back series. They’ll play one more against the Cardinals tomorrow with Chris Bassitt on the mound.

Full recap to follow.