If the purpose of these seven-inning double headers is to save time, the Mets’ Game 1 loss to the Cardinals definitely tested that logic. It got better for them in the second of the twin-bill Wednesday evening in St. Louis, when their offense decided to wake up.
The 4-1 defeat in Game 1 at Busch Stadium came amid a lack of offense, messy play, some long balls and one incredibly tedious half of a fourth inning, which included three delays by the Cards.
The Mets’ 7-2 win later was much more straightforward.
“It was a lot better,” Luis Rojas said, “From the walks we drew to putting the ball in play. . . I thought the guys took some quality at bats as a whole.”
In the first game, the Mets and Cards struggled to get out of the top of the fourth after three delays stalled play. First it was the Cards trying to figure out whether a visit to the mound by their Korean translator was an official visit. Then it was waiting for catcher Andrew Knizner to recover after getting hit in his private parts with a ball during James McCann’s at-bat.
And if those two delays weren’t ridiculous enough, umpires then had to review whether Nolan Arenado had indeed gotten an out at third after dropping a grounder he attempted to turn a double play on, picking the ball back up and then tripping over the bag.
All the while, the bases had been loaded with Michael Conforto, Kevin Pillar and Jeff McNeil.
The fans booed and a whole lot of just standing around took place over the half inning. Unfortunately for the Mets, that half inning was about as exciting as it would get and it only amounted to one run for them.
“It was almost like the guys didn’t have a good plan at the plate for this one,” Rojas said after Game 1.
The single Mets runner that scored, Conforto, made it home during the contested Arenado play at third, when he bobbled a ball off the bat of McCann but picked it up in time for a force at third. All for Mets No. 2 man Marcus Stroman to close out the bottom of the inning with three consecutive strikeouts, stranding two Cardinals at the corners.
The Mets ultimately dug their own graves. Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso both had errors. Arenado, who reached on a throwing error by Lindor in the fifth inning, also helped bring in a run after notorious Met killer Paul DeJong mashed a ball into the bullpen in left center field. And Alonso nearly put Stroman in a hole to start the fourth on a fielding error.
For a player who signed a nine-figure deal in Flushing and has been struggling offensively, the mishap on defense, where Lindor touts himself as his best, definitely was eyebrow raising.
“I’m not worried about his defense at all,” Rojas said after the game. “I don’t think both are going together now because of his offensive struggles.”
Stroman didn’t blame Lindor for the added runner and was quick to defend him when asked.
“At the end of the day, that’s all on me,” Stroman said. “I gotta make a better pitch in that scenario. I trust my defense wholeheartedly, each and every time I’m out there. Lindor’s made incredible plays for me already.”
Stroman was tagged with four runs, two earned on seven hits with a walk and six strikeouts over five innings, increasing his ERA from 1.86 to 2.12 on the season. That included the two long balls he gave up — a solo in the first and a two-run bomb in the fifth, which extended the Cards’ lead to 4-1.
“At the end of the day, I don’t think I was good enough out there,” Stroman said. “Over the course of five, I didn’t feel like I had it together. Just build from here and go on to the next start.” Those struggles were shrugged off an hour later.
The Amazin’s employed the opener system for the first time ever in the second game, going through five pitchers over the seven-inning game. They slotted in Miguel Castro, who pitched a scoreless first then passed the ball to recently called up righty Jordan Yamamoto. Aaron Loup, Trevor May and Robert Gsellman rounded out the group. Yamamoto and Gsellman were tagged with the two Cardinals runs scored.
In the second inning, Dominic Smith led off with a single, which was followed by a Pillar double. Smith scored after Cards’ starter Yohan Oviedo dealt a wild pitch to Tomas Nido, who then followed with a two-run shot over the left-center field wall.
The Mets pulled away further in the fourth when Jonathan Villar, playing shortstop in place of Francisco Lindor — who was removed from the starting lineup for Game 2 — knocked another longball to left. The Mets continued to lay it on the Cards in the fifth and seventh behind Pillar and Villar’s bat.
The pair, who had two RBI each, will likely see more consistent playing time with J.D. Davis, Brandon Nimmo and super utility man Luis Guillorme all on the IL.
“I think those guys have stayed highly motivated so when they get their chance,” Rojas said.
