Cardinals at Mets
The St. Louis Cardinals managed to earn two wins over the New York Mets in one day on Friday, and it only took 10 innings. The Cardinals will try to clinch a win in the four-game set when they visit the Mets on Saturday.
Thursday's series opener was suspended due to rain in the ninth inning on Thursday and St. Louis needed one inning to polish off a 5-4 victory before beginning Friday's scheduled contest, in which the Cardinals got three homers and five runs in the final two innings to earn a 9-5 triumph. Paul DeJong drove in the go-ahead run in the 10th to finish off the suspended game and belted the tying homer in the next contest before Dexter Fowler added a three-run blast and Kolten Wong finished things off with a solo homer. The Mets are losers of three of the last four after Friday's festivities and allowed a total of 30 runs in those four contests. New York will try to stop the bleeding behind Noah Syndergaard on Saturday while the Cardinals counter with fellow right-hander Michael Wacha.
TV: 7:10 p.m. FS Midwest (St. Louis), WPIX (New York)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Michael Wacha (4-2, 5.63 ERA) vs. Mets RH Noah Syndergaard (4-4, 4.45)
Wacha returned to the rotation on Monday after a brief demotion to the bullpen and looked sharp with six scoreless innings at Miami. The 27-year-old struck out four and yielded five hits along with two walks in his longest outing since a six-inning stint at Milwaukee on April 17. Wacha went 1-1 in a pair of starts against New York last season, surrendering a total of five runs and 10 hits over 10 2/3 innings.
Syndergaard showed off his best stuff against Colorado on Sunday, allowing one hit while striking out seven and walking two over seven scoreless innings to earn the win. The 26-year-old battled an illness during the week but will go for his sixth quality start in seven outings on Saturday. Syndergaard was not at his best at St. Louis on April 21, when he was reached for six runs - four earned - and eight hits over five innings to suffer a loss.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Mets bullpen leads the majors with 16 blown saves.
2. St. Louis 1B/OF Jose Martinez snapped a 25-game homerless drought with a pinch-hit, three-run blast on Friday.
3. New York OF Brandon Nimmo (neck) was scratched from a rehab game on Friday.