Mets Playing Good Baseball As Of Late, Seeking Win In Opener Over Cardinals

The New York Mets are still seven games under .500 at 29-36, but the team is playing good baseball and trending in the right direction.

The Mets have won seven of its last 10 games and are coming off a huge series win against the struggling San Diego Padres. Rookie right fielder Carson Benge has been on fire recently, and the 23-year-old went 5-for-5 with a home run, triple and two RBI in the series clinching game Sunday.

Benge has settled in nicely as the leadoff hitter for New York, proving to be a catalyst that belongs at the top of the lineup in front of infielder Bo Bichette and left fielder Juan Soto.

The Mets opened with reliever Huascar Brazoban for the sixth time this season before turning things over to left-hander Sean Manaea, who allowed two runs on four hits and a walk with three strikeouts in four innings of relief.

Padres right-hander Randy Vasquez struggled and took the loss after allowing four runs on eight hits and two walks while fanning three over four innings.

New York will turn its attention to the St. Louis Cardinals, which have outperformed its season projections thus far. The Cardinals were expected to struggle amid a youth movement, but the team is currently in second place of the highly competitive National League Central.

The series opener will feature a pitching matchup between Cardinals right-hander Dustin May and Mets righty Freddy Peralta.

After two brutal starts to begin the season, May has been quite good. His 3-6 record, 4.59 ERA and 1.29 WHIP through 12 starts (66.2 innings) may say otherwise, but he hasn’t allowed more than three runs in nine of his last 10 starts. He pitched 5.2 innings against the Texas Rangers his last time out and allowed three runs on five hits and two walks while punching out nine.

Peralta has been solid for the Mets, posting a 4-4 record with a 3.63 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 74 strikeouts through 13 starts (72 innings). He hasn’t quite been as good as the organization or fans were hoping for coming off his dominant 2025 season, but Peralta has been the most consistent pitcher on the staff.

He last worked against the Seattle Mariners and pitched six clean innings of one-run ball on six hits and two walks while striking out six to earn his fourth win of the season.

First pitch is at 7:10 p.m. EDT on MLB.TV and regional sports networks.