Game 2 rally falls short as Mets settle for split
Cardinals’ O’neill beats Escobar throw from third as Donovan scores in 9th
Tyler O’neill redeemed himself after setting a Cardinals record for a doubleheader with six strikeouts, beating out a tiebreaking infield single in the ninth inning as St. Louis beat the New York Mets 4-3 Tuesday night to split their twin bill.
After New York tied it in the eighth, St. Louis drew two walks against Joely Rodriguez (0-2) in the ninth. Pinch-hitter Nolan Arenado
struck out against ex-rockies teammate Adam Ottavino for the second out.
O’neill then hit a weak roller off Ottavino. Sure-handed third baseman Eduardo Escobar charged hard but double clutched at the ball, allowing the speedy O’neill to reach first while Brendan Donovan scored from third.
Giovanny Gallegos allowed oneout singles to Dominic Smith and Luis Guillorme in the ninth, then struck out Mark Canha and Francisco Lindor for his seventh save.
Paul Goldschmidt had three hits in the nightcap as St. Louis played its first doubleheader this year. He also homered in the opener, but Jeff Mcneil and Dominic Smith
helped New York chip away at Miles Mikolas, and Trevor Williams was sharp in a spot start as the Mets won 3-1.
New York tied the late game on Mcneil’s RBI single with one out in the eighth — one batter after Escobar reached on a dropped third strike. Ryan Helsley (2-0) got Escobar to whiff at a breaking ball, but catcher Andrew Knizner also missed it with a stab in the dirt.
Mets leadoff man Brandon Nimmo ended a 26-game onbase streak in the opener and left the nightcap after fouling a ball off his right knee.
Canha and Escobar gave New York early leads with solo homers in Game 2, but St. Louis erased them with Goldschmidt’s first RBI double and Tommy Edman’s RBI triple.
Goldschmidt made it 3-2 with another double in the fifth against Mets starter Taijuan
Walker, who gave up three runs in five innings. The right-hander got a bases-loaded lineout from O’neill for his final out, finishing with four strikeouts, two walks and seven hits allowed.
O’neill, a two-time Gold Glove-winning left fielder also let a foul popup drop in front of him during New York’s eighth-inning rally in Game 2.
Ex-mets pitcher Steven Matz completed five innings for the Cardinals, allowing two runs on three hits. Matz made his second start at Citi Field since New York traded him to Toronto after the 2020 season.
Mcneil and Smith each had two hits in Game 1, including an RBI double apiece in the third inning. Mcneil also narrowly missed a homer foul during a 12-pitch at-bat against Mikolas in the first and Smith singled and scored on a groundout in the second.
Mikolas (3-2) allowed a season-high three runs (two earned) over six innings.
“A lot of good at-bats,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said. “We didn’t strike out a whole lot off him until later on. He’s a good one. He’s got a lot of weapons.”
St. Louis put two runners on against Edwin Diaz in the ninth, but the Mets closer struck out Harrison Bader swinging to earn his ninth save.
Trainer’s room
Mets: OF Starling Marte was placed on the bereavement list following the death of his grandmother. … RHP Jacob degrom had a follow-up MRI on Monday that showed progressive healing of the stress reaction in his right scapula.