Mets swept by Cardinals in doubleheader, leave 22 runners on base
The Mets' Luisangel Acuña looks back after stealing second base in the fourth inning during the first game of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals. Credit: AP/Joe Puetz
ST. LOUIS — The Mets did a lot of losing Sunday, and not only on the scoreboard.
In addition to getting swept by the Cardinals in a doubleheader, 6-5 in the opener and 5-4 in the nightcap, the Mets lost Jesse Winker to an apparent oblique injury.
Winker departed in the fourth inning of the first game because of discomfort in his right side, an injury suffered when he threw home from leftfield on a sacrifice fly. The Mets sent him for an MRI, but when those images “weren’t clear,” they opted to send him back to New York for further tests as the team headed to Arizona, manager Carlos Mendoza said.
Mendoza added that he expects Winker to land on the injured list Monday.
“Any time you’re not playing, it sucks,” said Winker, who mostly has served as a designated hitter and started in the field for the first time this season.
Starling Marte exited in the fifth inning of the second game, but that was “part of the plan” because he hadn’t played defense at all since spring training, Mendoza said.
The Mets (22-13) have dropped consecutive series for the first time this season.
A major theme in both contests: issues converting on scoring opportunities.
In a pair of one-run losses, the Mets went 3-for-15 and 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position. They totaled 22 runners stranded.
“We did a really good job getting guys on,” Juan Soto said. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t come through with the big base hit. Overall, we did a pretty good job.”
Mendoza said: “That’s how baseball goes sometimes. It can be a little frustrating, but there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Luisangel Acuna, who collected three hits and a walk in the opener, had a chance to tie the score in the ninth inning but popped out to second base against Ryan Helsley to end it, stranding the potential tying run at third base.
The most painful missed opportunity in Game 2 probably wasn’t quite the fault of a Mets hitter. Soto drove a fly ball to deep centerfield off righthander Andre Pallante (3 1⁄3 innings, four runs), but Victor Scott II’s jumping catch at the wall robbed him of a three-run home run.
“I thought it was out,” Soto said. “Definitely, I hit it hard enough to go out.”
Michael McGreevy came out of the bullpen to handle the final 5 2/3 innings for St. Louis (16-19), limiting the Mets to one hit.
“They played very good defense behind him,” Mendoza said. “He didn’t shy away from contact. He kept attacking.”
Righthander Tylor Megill gave up a season-high four earned runs in five innings in the nightcap. Alec Burleson’s two-run homer in the second accounted for half. The other two came after Mark Vientos’ low throw — on what was ruled a single for Nolan Arenado — extended the bottom of the third.
In his major-league debut Sunday afternoon, righthander Blade Tidwell got hit around for six runs in 3 2/3 innings.
He dealt with a ton of traffic on the bases — nine hits, three walks — and managed that mostly fine until the fourth inning, when St. Louis plated four runs on a pair of two-out, two-run singles by Brendan Donovan and Willson Contreras.
“We saw flashes of his potential, especially with the life on the fastball,” Mendoza said. “But we also saw that there is room for development, especially with the secondary pitches. At this level, you’re going to need pitches to put hitters away, but also you’re going to need secondary pitches to get back in counts.
“I thought the changeup wasn’t there today, with that many lefties there. He flashed a few sliders, some sweepers, but then he left a couple on the middle of the plate. Those are some of the things that he will continue to work on. But we saw flashes.”
Contreras also homered in the second, sending a slider on the outer third of the plate into the Cardinals’ bullpen in rightfield.
“That was a good piece of hitting,” Tidwell said. “I executed that pitch where I wanted it. Maybe it was the wrong pitch, maybe not. But he put a good swing on it.”
Tidwell lamented that he had trouble finishing batters off when he got ahead in the count.
“A lot of the weak contact was late in counts when I should’ve been able to put them away,” he said.
No matter the outcome, though, he achieved his dream of making it to the majors. Between games, he posed for pictures on the field with a couple dozen family members and friends.
“It was awesome,” he said. “Indescribable, really. It was everything I hoped for and more.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
