After suffering a rocky start to their 10-game road trip, the New York Mets will try to restart their offense during their brief stopover in St. Louis.
The Mets will face the Cardinals in a makeup game Monday afternoon, after the teams’ series finale scheduled for May 8 was postponed due to inclement weather.
Over the weekend, New York lost two of three to the Los Angeles Angels, who are in fourth place in the American League West.
“Our job is to continue to win series,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “I keep saying it, they’re big-league teams, they’re big-league players, anybody can beat you any day. We didn’t do that this series and we have to move on. We have a game tomorrow against the Cardinals and then move on to the next series. We just have to turn the page.”
New York mustered just five hits in its 3-2 loss Sunday afternoon in Anaheim, Calif. The Mets went 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position in that game and 6-for-35 in the series.
“I wouldn’t read too much into it — this offense has been really good this year and I don’t think that is going anywhere,” Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo said, according to the New York Post. “I just think they just made good pitches this weekend. We had a few balls that were hit hard, but didn’t find spaces.”
The Mets will start left-hander Sean Manaea (7-4, 3.50 ERA), who earned a 2-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins in his last start Tuesday. He threw seven shutout innings, allowing two hits and striking out a season-high 11.
On May 6, Manaea earned a 4-3 victory at St. Louis, allowing three runs on six hits in six innings. He is 1-0 with a 4.91 ERA in two career appearances (one start) against the Cardinals.
St. Louis, which lost three of four games to the Cubs in Chicago over the weekend, will counter with Andre Pallante (4-5, 4.04).
Pallante joined the rotation as a replacement for Steven Matz. Lance Lynn’s knee injury kept him in the rotation after the team added pitcher Erick Fedde ahead of the trade deadline. Pallante is 4-4 with a 3.61 ERA in 10 starts this season.
He suffered a 6-3 loss to the Texas Rangers in his last start on July 29. Pallante allowed three runs on seven hits and two walks in five innings, while striking out five.
“Probably the most growth I’ve seen in a player this year, if we’re talking about mentality,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said of Pallante. “How he uses his stuff is who he is. But when it comes to how he’s taking the mound — his overall mound presence, his determination, his focus, his preparation, you can go down the list — he has grown a ton.
“He’s pitching with a lot of confidence. There’s times when you’re in the big leagues and you question whether you’re a big leaguer or not. Then you kind of go over that threshold where you know you’re a big leaguer. I feel like he’s there where he knows he belongs here.”
Pallante is 0-0 with a 0.93 ERA in seven career relief appearances against the Mets.
St. Louis made a roster move Sunday, placing starting center fielder Michael Siani on the 10-day injured list with an oblique muscle strain and recalling outfielder Victor Scott II from Triple-A Memphis.
Lars Nootbaar started in center field in Sunday’s 6-2 loss to Chicago and he could become the primary player there in Siani’s absence. The speedy Scott could serve as a defensive replacement.
–Field Level Media
