The Cardinals smashed three homers in the first two innings of Thursday's game at New York's Citi Field, but a Juan Soto long ball in the seventh inning lifted the Mets to a 5-4 victory. The Cards' winning streak ended at six games.
Maybe it was only fitting that in a game where five of the first 14 batters of the game homered that the outcome was decided five innings later … on another home run.
“We did some things well today, but at the end of the day we came up short, but I liked the way our guys played,” manager Oliver Marmol told Cardinals.TV. “We took some good at bats and we were able to punch back after giving up three (runs), so I like seeing that out of our group. They’ve done that a lot this year, but (the Mets) came out on top.”
Alec Burleson, Lars Nootbaar and rookie catcher Jimmy Crooks hit home runs early in the game to give the Cards a 4-3 lead. The Mets got long balls from Bo Bichette and Jared Young in the first inning off spot starter Hunter Dobbins to spot the Mets to a 3-1 lead. It was just the eighth game since 1961 that there were at least five home runs in the first 14 plate appearances of the game, per Elias Sports Bureau. Also, it was the first time that had happened since May 23, 2022, when the Royals and D-backs crushed five early homers.
The Cardinals lost for the first time since June 2 after winning once against the Rangers, sweeping the Reds over a three-game series and taking the first two from the Mets in Queens. The Cardinals, a team expected to be in rebuilding mode this season after trading away veterans Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras and Brendan Donovan over the winter, have had two six-game winning streaks this season. Despite the loss, the Cardinals still won both three-game series against the Mets and took the season series, 4-2.
Early slugfest decided on Soto homer
The Cardinals came into Thursday averaging seven runs a game and hitting .290 with eight homers over their six-game winning streak. It certainly looked like they would eclipse those numbers with their strong start to Game 3 against the Mets.
The Cardinals got a solo homer in the first inning when Burleson jumped a first-pitch four-seam fastball from Mets' right-hander Christian Scott. Burleson, who homered in his final at bat in Wednesday's win, extended his hitting streak to 11 games with his 11th home run. Also, it is the second time in Burleson's career that he's homered in three straight games – a streak he will take into Friday’s game in Minnesota.
As they have done all season, the Cardinals responded to an early deficit after the Mets scored three times in the bottom of the first. Lars Nootbaar led off the second with a towering 445-foot blast that left his bat at 109.2 mph. The 445-foot blast tied what Mark Vientos did earlier in the season for the longest homer at Citi Field in 2026.
Then, following a Masyn Winn double, rookie catcher Jimmy Crooks ambushed a first-pitch sweeper for a two-run shot that put the Cardinals back into the lead, 4-3.
“(Nootbaar) hit his (homer) a long way and that was a really good swing against a good arm,” Marmol said. “Burleson did the same thing, and I like what Crooks was able to do today. Up and down the lineup, we’re being aggressive in the zone, which is awesome.”
The Mets, who were soundly thrashed in the first two games of the series, showed some life in the bottom of the first inning. Bichette hit a sweeper that Cardinals' starter Hunter Dobbins left in the middle of the plate to give New York a 2-1 lead. Two batters later, Jacob Young hit a splitter in the middle of the plate 390 feet for a solo shot.
The Mets got the game tied in the fifth inning when Soto scored from second on a Young’s single. Cards center fielder Nathan Church showed off his powerful throwing arm by firing to the plate well ahead of the late-breaking Soto. However, a short hop got past Crooks, allowing Soto to score.
In the seventh inning, Cardinals’ lefty ace JoJo Romero got touched up by Soto – a rarity in a lefty-lefty spot over the past three seasons. When Romero left a slider over the plate, Soto got just enough of it for the game-winning homer.
“We’ll get to rest tonight and then we’ll get back at it,” Marmol said to Cardinals.TV. “These guys are ready to play and let’s start another winning streak.”
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