The Mets led twice late in the game but came out on the wrong end of a 4-3 score in extra innings Thursday afternoon against the Cardinals to drop the rubber game of the series.

The Mets scored a first inning run and tacked on another score in the seventh inning, both runs courtesy of Yoenis Cespedes. With Noah Syndergaard in complete command, it looked like the Mets were going to cruise to the victory.

But shaky fielding, which played a role in Wednesday’s loss, was to play an even bigger one this time around. A play not made by Cespedes led to a run in the seventh inning while an error by Amed Rosario led to the tying run scoring in the eighth.

Still, it looked like the Mets were going to come out on top when they forged a two-out rally in the 10th inning, which culminated in a bases-loaded walk by Jose Lobaton. But the Cardinals staged a two-out rally of their own in the bottom of the frame, consisting of an infield single and a booming RBI double.

The Mets went down in order in the 11th, 12th and 13th innings. Meanwhile, the Cardinals strung together a walk and two singles in the bottom of the 13th to claim the victory.

Syndergaard deserved a better fate. And while the defense was disappointing for the second day in a row, it’s hard not to notice the bullpen showing cracks that it did not earlier in the year. It wasn’t a bad day for the pen, but Robert Gsellman couldn’t hold the lead for Syndergaard in the eighth inning, Jeurys Familia blew the Save in the 10th and Paul Sewald got tagged with the loss in the 13th.

This ended the season series against the Cardinals with the teams each winning three games. For the Mets, it ended with back-to-back tough losses. After getting blown out on Wednesday, they let a game they should have won slide through their hands Thursday. The Mets are among the league leaders in comeback wins. But they’ve also lost a few games late that they easily could have won.

6 comments on “Gut Reaction: Cardinals 4, Mets 3 (13 INN) – 4/26/18

  • TexasGusCC

    After Lagares made an inexcusable mistake, the radio guys kept telling us that Lagares was playing:
    – one step from the warning track
    – on the warning track
    – back by the arc
    None of this was of any consolation because his job in the 10th was to make sure only a ball out of the yard beats him. He was too arrogant and it beat him.

    The last time I saw an outfielder make that mistake, it cost the Texas Rangers a World Series because Nelson Cruz wasn’t pulled by Ron Washington in order to be on the field and celebrate with his team.

    Both teams are good, but the Cardinals gave nothing to the Mets, and the Mets gave the Cards two tying runs by sloppy fielding.

    Terrible loss. Not quite the Nationals from last week, but, there needs to be some concern that this team’s heads aren’t consistently in the game. Right before the Lagares play, Lobaton didn’t back up the first baseman and Keith and Gary didn’t hold back.

  • Chris F

    You know, no XBH after the first inning had something to do with it. As did leaving Ces on 3B with 1 out by having two lousy pop ups. I mean even a sac fly….

    Im not gonna tar Lagares there, but I get it. ball straight into the sun right at him. These things can happen. In any event, its a team loss.

    It is worth pointing out how we talk about Jake and Noah as “stoppers” — if only the offense would comply…

    • Michael

      Amen to that. Offense is very reminiscent of the last few years. Jake and Syndicate deserve better.

  • MattyMets

    This series against the Cardinals reminded me of the 2015 WS. Our offense couldn’t really get going and left little room for error. Hard to lay all the fault on the defense when you allow 4 runs in 13 innings.

    On a positive note, Cespedes, Bruce and Conforto all got hits in this game. When was the last time that happened? Most of our bats have been underperforming all season.

  • Mike Walczak

    Familia already has 3 blown saves and it is still April. That is a real concern.

  • Charlie Hangley

    I can’t get too upset about this. This was a game of attrition, both sides staggering at the end — empty benches, bottom of bullpens, etc. Games like this tend to favor the home team, what with last licks & all. This was a not unexpected outcome.

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