The New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals combined to put together an early candidate for the ugliest game of the 2021 season. The Mets showcased how not to hit with runners on base while the Cards pitchers had no idea where the strike zone was. In the end, the Mets won the battle of attrition 4-1 to escape St. Louis with a split of their four-game series.
Not even the rain could stop @tai_walker today. ? pic.twitter.com/Nkk1izpuFP
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 6, 2021
Taijuan Walker was absolutely masterful when the Mets needed him to go deep into the game. Over seven innings, Walker allowed just one hit and struck out eight. Even after a rain delay, Walker came out to finish the last two innings of his start and retired 18 straight to finish his start. The unearned run came on a throwing error from third baseman Jonathan Villar after a shift beating single. Trevor May struck out two in the eighth and Edwin Diaz rebounded from his ugly outing on Sunday to finish the win.
Bad Baseball All-Around
The combination of Cardinals’ control issues and Mets’ lack of clutch hitting made the top of every inning gruesome. Cardinals pitchers combined for 11 walks, including three with the bases loaded, but the Mets barely took advantage of them. When they did swing the bat, they went 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position and left 17 men on base. The only run that did not come via a walk was Dominic Smith‘s RBI single to give the Mets their fourth run.
In other news, the bats of Francisco Lindor and James McCann have taken themselves off life support. Lindor finally broke an 0-for-26 slump with a single, and McCann recorded two hits on the day. Despite the win, there were not many redeeming qualities from the win, but they can hope Lindor’s single finally gets him going.
On Friday, the Mets return to Citi Field and welcome in the Arizona Diamondbacks for a three-game weekend series. Zac Gallen takes the mound against David Peterson for a 7:10 p.m. Friday night start.