Tylor Megill struggles, Mets' bats miss chances in 5-4 loss to Cardinals in Game 2 of doubleheader

The Mets had chances early, but couldn’t find the big hit and let an early two-run lead slip away for a 5-4 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader.

Tylor Megill labored through five innings of work in his worst outing of the young season, as the Mets dropped two one-run games to close out the series in St. Louis. 

Missed opportunities early proved harmful: New York was 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position, left nine on base, and hit into two double plays in the first five innings. The Mets, after scoring all their runs in the third, had just one base runner in the final four frames.

Here are the key takeaways…

– The second game of the twin bill started with a pair of twin killings as Pete Alonso smashed a ball (112.7 mph) for a tough-luck 5-4-3 in the first and Brandon Nimmo bounced into an easy 4-6-3 in the second.

Alonso made up for it with a run-scoring single to left (his 31st RBI of the year) with one out in the third. The first baseman’s single was the Mets’ seventh ball hit harder than 97 mph of the game and their sixth hit off St. Louis starter Andre Pallante.

Nimmo, with the bases loaded, got beat by a Pallante up and in fastball for the second out. Starling Marte, on a 3-2 count, took a lazy breaking pitch the other way for a two-run single to put the Mets ahead. Francisco Alvarez tacked on another run by shooting the ball the other way for his seventh RBI of the season.

– Nimmo got another chance with the bases loaded in the fourth, and lined a shot to right, but Jordan Walker made a stumbling catch on the run to end the inning without a run. The 107 mph shot had an expected batting average of .630, per Statcast. Nimmo finished the day 0-for-4 with a strikeout.

– After a five-pitch first, Megill got beat with an infield single by Nolan Arenado on a slow roller to third before Alec Burleson took a fastball up and over the plate deep to right for a 402-foot two-run shot.

The right-hander bounced back, getting the next three batters with two strikeouts. But he walked Lars Nootbaar and Masyn Winn with one out in the third, and pitching coach Jeremy Hefner was out for a visit. Megill got a pair of grounders, but on the second one, Vientos’ throw was in the dirt and Alonso couldn’t scoop it. The play was ruled a second Arenado infield hit, but just as easily could have been ruled an error. Willson Contreras smashed a single up the middle on a 3-2 pitch to tie the game. On the 38th pitch of the frame, Megill got a grounder to second to end the jam.

His best inning of the night was his final one, working around a one-out hit-by-pitch to strike out the side in the fifth. Megill’s final line: 5 innings, four hits, four runs, three walks, and six strikeouts on 90 pitches (53 strikes).

– Max Kranick surrendered a run when Victor Scott hit a two-out gapper to right center, scoring Yohel Pozo from first. Luisangel Acuña and Francisco Lindor didn’t cut off Tyrone Taylor’s throw well, which denied them a shot at getting the slow-footed catcher at the plate.

Ryne Stanek allowed a one-out bloop single and another batter to reach on a strikeout-wild pitch in a scoreless seventh. Edwin Diaz, pitching in his first game in eight days, allowed a leadoff single and a two-out double, but kept St. Louis off the board.

– Juan Soto, serving as the DH for the first time on the season, smashed a single up the middle in the first. With runners on first and second and nobody out against a struggling Pallente in the fourth, Soto drove a deep fly to center, but Scott had time to get back to the wall and rob the slugger of a homer with a leaping catch. At 408 feet, it would have been a homer in 13 of 30 parks, but not Citi Field. 

Soto drove a ball to the warning track in left to start the sixth, but the 349-foot ball was only a fly out. It would have been a homer in seven parks, but not in Queens. He finished the game 1-for-5. 

– Lindor singled in the third and walked in the fourth before stealing second to put two in scoring position. He got an RBI chance with two out in the fifth, but went down swinging at a fastball above the zone to strand two. He finished the day 1-for-4.

– Vientos lined a first-pitch slider the opposite way to start the second with a single and walked his first two chances. He went down looking with the bases loaded in the fourth on a sweeper at the bottom of the zone on the inside corner. Vientos added a single to finish 2-for-4 with a walk and strikeout.

– Alonso finished 1-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout.

– Alvarez had just two walks in 28 times up entering the game and walked twice in his first three times up. He finished the day 1-for-2.

– Acuña bounced out to end the second and third innings, stranding two runners on both occasions. He finished 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.

– Taylor singled to start the third and fourth innings. He went 2-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch. 

– Marte got the start in right field, making his first appearance in the field of the season. He took a hanging slider to left for a single and stole second for his 357th steal of his career in the second. After grounding out to start the top of the fifth, Marte was not in right for the bottom of the inning with José Azócar replacing him. He finished the day 2-for-3. Manager Carlos Mendoza said after the game that it was “part of the plan” to limit Marte to just five innings.

Who was the game MVP?

Cardinals reliever Michael McGreevy entered with the bases loaded and one out in the fourth inning and put a halt to the Mets’ offense. The right-hander surrendered one hit, one walk, and a hit by pitch but closed the game with 5.2 scoreless innings. He retired the final 10 batters he faced.

Highlights

Upcoming schedule

New York heads to Arizona for a three-game series against the Diamondbacks.

Right-hander Griffin Canning (2.61 ERA, 1.387 WHIP in 31.0 innings) gets the start for the visitors. Righty Ryne Nelson (5.82 ERA, 1.176 WHIP in 17 innings) climbs the hill for the home side.

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