Mets 6 Cardinals 0 (Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO)
Mets Record: 59-53
Mets Streak: W1
Mets Last 10: 5-5
WP: Sean Manaea (8-4)
LP: Andre Pallante (4-6)
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.
Today's Seat On The Korner goes to starting pitcher Sean Manaea, who shut out the Cardinals over 7 innings giving up 6 hits, no walks, and striking out 10. This was the second straight start like this for Manaea, as just last Tuesday he pitched 7 shutout innings with 2 hits, 1 walk, and 11 K's against the Minnesota Twins. The only other pitchers in Mets history with consecutive starts of 7+ innings, 10+ K's, and no runs allowed are Tom Seaver and Dwight Gooden. Or, if you're looking for more of a southpaw angle to this story, the only other lefty starter with 20+ K's without allowing a run over a 2-game span is Jerry Koosman.
Need To Know:
Today's game was the makeup of the May 8th rainout, the third game of a 3-game series. The Mets won the first two games, so with today's win, they swept the Cardinals in St. Louis.
New York's first run came home when Pete Alonso scored on a 2-out wild pitch with Francisco Alvarez at the plate.
Alonso batted 5th in the lineup for the first time since September 26, 2020, and just the sixth time in his career. He went 1-3 with a single, a walk, a run scored, and a strikeout.
Francisco Alvarez had 2 hits and has now gotten a hit in all 3 games he's played in August. The Mets young catcher had been struggling, going just 3-31 in July after the All-Star break. This month, however, Alvarez is 4-13 with 2 runs scored and an RBI.
Turning Point
In an effort to take advantage of Cardinals starter Andre Pallante's reverse splits (meaning the righty as better success against left-handed hitters than he does versus right-handed hitters), Mets manager Carlos Mendoza tinkered with the lineup and put Tyrone Taylor in the #2 spot. The move paid off in the 5th inning when Taylor stepped to the plate with one out and the bases loaded and the Mets ahead 2-0. In his earlier at-bat against Pallante, Taylor grounded a sinker right to third baseman Nolan Arrenado. This time, on a 1-2 count, Taylor adjusted to the sinker and lined a bases-clearing double to right field to extend Mets lead to 5-0. For a team that was having some trouble finding the big hit with runners in scoring position over the last few games, Taylor's shot provided a sigh of relief.
Three Keys:
Still Happy Jeff
Second baseman Jeff McNeil continued his strong post-All-Star break run going 2-4 with a single and a home run, and 2 runs scored. In 17 games since the break, McNeil has 6 doubles and 5 home runs and is slashing .370/.400/.759 (that's a 1.159 OPS). During this span, he has raised his 2024 batting average from .216 to .239, and his OPS from .591 to .677.
Double Trouble
Former Cardinals 3rd round draft pick (in 2015), Harrison Bader, returned to his old stomping grounds, this time in orange and blue, and proceeded to, well, stomp, on Redbirds pitching. After receiving a standing ovation from the Cardinals fans, Bader went 2-4 with 2 doubles, 1 RBI and 1 run scored.
Bullpen Keeps It Rolling
In his third appearance as a member of the New York Mets, reliever Ryan Stanek took his cue (and the ball) from Sean Manaea, with a scoreless 8th inning. The veteran righty faced the minimum three batters, striking out the first one and getting an inning-ending double-play following a walk. Closer Edwin Diaz made his first appearance since July 30th with a 1-2-3 inning to close it out. In a non-save situation, the man they call Sugar had a strike out, ground out, and fly out tossing 14 pitches in the game's final inning.
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