DeJong homers again as Cards take down Mets

NEW YORK » Paul DeJong homered against the New York Mets for the fourth straight game and Adam Wainwright hit an RBI double while winning his fourth consecutive start, sending the St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-3 victory Monday night.

With runners at the corners in the bottom of the ninth inning, slugger Yoenis Cespedes grounded into a game-ending double play on a 3-0 pitch from Brett Cecil.

Tommy Pham capped a six-run sixth with a three-run homer on Hansel Robles’ second pitch since returning from the minors. Four relievers combined on 3 1/3 spotless innings for St. Louis, which took the opener of a four-game series between losing teams that expected much better this season.

Michael Conforto and Lucas Duda homered off Wainwright (11-5), who beat scuffling starter Zack Wheeler (3-7) for the second time in 10 days.

Away from the field, Noah Syndergaard and Matt Harvey began their throwing programs, playing

catch together at Citi Field in their first steps toward returning to the mound for the New York Mets.

Whether either one gets back in time to make a difference this season, well, that remains to be seen.

On the mend from significant injuries, both righthanders said they felt good — but neither would put a timetable on his recovery. Harvey hasn’t been sidelined as long as Syndergaard, but both are at least several weeks away from coming off the disabled list.

“We’ll try and get back as quick as we can,” Harvey said.

Syndergaard, an AllStar last season, has been out since May 1 with a torn lat muscle on his right side. Harvey, the oft-injured former ace who has faded the past two years, went down in mid-June with a stress injury to his right shoulder.

The two have combined for all of five wins (four by Harvey) and 18 starts this year, a major reason the disappointing Mets were 4148 and 9 1/2 games out of a playoff spot going into Monday night’s series opener against St. Louis. With the July 31 trade deadline fast approaching, general manager Sandy Alderson must soon decide whether to deal away several veterans eligible for free agency this fall, including Jay Bruce, Lucas Duda, Curtis Granderson and Addison Reed.

“This is a big homestand,” manager Terry Collins said. “We’ve created where we are, and unfortunately it’s a stage where these games are very, very important to us.”