Gray pitches Cardinals by the Mets

— Sonny Gray extended his terrific start with St. Louis, Paul

Goldschmidt hit an early two-run double and the Cardinals beat the New Yok Mets 7-4 on Saturday for their first threegame win streak this season.

With the bases loaded in the ninth inning, Ryan Helsley retired Francisco Lindor on a popup for the final out. Lindor struck out his previous four times up.

Nolan Arenado and rookie Masyn Winn each had an RBI single during a four-run first against struggling Mets newcomer Adrian Houser. Nolan Gorman added an RBI double in the third.

Pete Alonso hit his 200th home run for the Mets, becoming the fourth-fastest player in major league history to reach the milestone behind Ryan Howard, Aaron Judge and Ralph Kiner, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Gray (3-1) gave up one earned run and four hits over six innings. He struck out nine and has a 1.16 ERA in four starts for the Cardinals after beginning the season on the injured list with a right hamstring strain.

The right-hander signed a $75 million, three-year contract with St. Louis in November after finishing second in AL Cy Young Award voting last year with Minnesota.

JoJo Romero and Andrew Kittredge each worked a scoreless inning, setting up Helsley for his ninth save.

Brendan Donovan had two doubles and a sacrifice fly for the Cardinals, who have won four of five.

Houser (0-3) was tagged for six runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 innings, leaving him with an 8.37 ERA after five starts with the Mets.

He was booed by the crowd of 32,332.

Brandon Nimmo had a two-run single and Alonso hit a two-run drive in the fifth as the Mets, debuting their City Connect uniforms, shaved a six-run deficit to 6-4. It was the first home run allowed by Gray this year. The inning began with an uncharacteristic error by Arenado, a 10-time Gold Glove winner at third base.