NEW YORK — Hitting home runs has proved to be a challenge for the Cardinals so far this season and when they do hit one, it usually has come with no more than one runner on base.
Alec Burleson did something about that on Friday night. His home run in the second inning followed Nolan Arenado being hit by a pitch and a walk to Paul Goldschmidt, and the three-run blast provided all of the runs the Cardinals needed to win the opener of their three-game series against the Mets in New York.
The homer was only the second by the Cardinals this season with two runners on base.
Willson Contreras also hit a solo homer in the third, giving the Cardinals a team total of 18 home runs in their first 26 games, the second fewest in the major leagues. The only team with fewer home runs is the White Sox with 16.
Here is how Friday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals had only three hits in the game other than the two home runs, singles by Brandon Crawford, Paul Goldschmidt and Brendan Donovan … They had a chance to add to their lead when they loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth on Goldschmidt’s single and back-to-back walks but Crawford struck out … It was the first home run of the season for Burleson and the fourth for Contreras, whose blast was estimated at 445 feet.
On the mound: Miles Mikolas picked up his second win of the season. He pitched into the sixth inning, leaving after the Mets scored both of their runs in the sixth. He allowed seven hits, didn’t walk a batter and struck out five. The Cardinals had lost four of his previous five starts … JoJo Romero, Andrew Kittredge and Ryan Helsley combined to record the final 10 outs, with the New York hit a single off Kittredge. The trio had four strikeouts with Helsley earning his eighth save.
Key stat: The only other three-run homer for the Cardinals this season came from Arenado at Arizona on April 12.
Worth noting: The Cardinals are 6-3 in the opening game of a series this season … It was a scheduled day off for shortstop Masyn Winn … Dylan Carlson is progressing in his recovery from his shoulder injury that has forced him to miss the first month of the season and could be going on a minor-league rehab assignment next week,
Looking ahead: Sonny Gray will get the start on Saturday in the second game of the series.
