Yoenis Cespedes lifted a fly ball in the ninth inning on Tuesday afternoon that sailed deep enough to offer some hope. Off the bat, it appeared to be a walk-off homer. And when it became clear that he didn’t get enough, it looked to be deep enough for Curtis Granderson to at least advance to second.
But in the Mets’ 3-2 loss to the Cardinals, that turned out to be a letdown as well.
Centerfielder Tommy Pham threw out Granderson at second, and James Loney grounded out to end it against Cardinals closer Seung Hwan Oh. With that, the Mets (52-46) dropped the front end of a doubleheader.
Noah Syndergaard (9-6) allowed three runs (two earned) in six innings, one run too many as it turned out. Indeed, it didn’t take long for Syndergaard to know that it might not be his day.
The Cardinals took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on an unearned run. The rally materialized even though the ball left the infield just once.
Following Yadier Molina’s one-out single to center, Jeremy Hazelbaker legged out a slow roller to third, and Tommy Pham lined a comebacker off Syndergaard’s leg to load the bases. Up came pitcher Carlos Martinez, who bounced one to the right of the mound. Falling to the first-base side, Syndergaard reversed his course, snagged the ball, and attempted a throw home as he was falling down.
The ball bounced in the dirt and off catcher Rene Rivera — Syndergaard was charged with a throwing error — and Molina scored.
In the third, Syndergaard paid dearly for a one-out walk to Matt Adams. Jedd Gyorko followed with a two-run blast down the leftfield line that hit the facing of the upper deck, giving the Cardinals a 3-0 lead.
Through four innings, Syndergaard had thrown 86 pitches, a sure sign of a short afternoon. He finished with 115 pitches, tying his season high.
Rivera cut the deficit to 3-2 with a two-run homer in the fourth. Not known for his bat, the backup catcher has nonetheless delivered a handful of big hits for the Mets. It was his fourth homer.
The homer scored Asdrubal Cabrera, who reached on a hit by pitch, which came only after umpires reviewed the play and saw that the ball had struck the top of his foot.
But the Mets wound up paying the price for another strange development. With two outs in the third, third-base coach Tim Teufel held the speedy Jose Reyes, who appeared to have a chance to score from first base on Yoenis Cespedes’ double.
Instead, he was held up. James Loney walked to load the bases for Kelly Johnson, who struck out.
The Mets stranded 11 and finished 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
..... - Newsday