NEW YORK — The Cardinals were one strike away from a win, one strike away from sweeping the series against the Mets, one strike away from getting back to the .500 mark for the season.
Former Cardinal Harrison Bader kept all that from happening, however, with an RBI single on an 0-2 pitch from Matthew Liberatore that tied Sunday’s game in the 11th inning in New York.
The Cardinals were then one strike away from extending the game to the 12th, but Mark Vientos hit a 1-2 pitch from Liberatore over a leaping Michael Siani, just clearing the wall in right-center for the walk-off home run.
Bader’s hit came after Cardinals’ pitchers had kept the Mets hitless in 15 at-bats with a runner in scoring position.
On a day when the top three Cardinals relievers – Ryan Helsley, Andrew Kittredge and JoJo Romero – all were unavailable because of recent use, Liberatore was asked to go back to the mound for the 11th after working 2 1/3 scoreless innings.
Here is how Sunday’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals offense did not have much success against former Cardinal Jose Quintana. Their only run until the 11th inning came on a successful squeeze bunt from Siani in the fifth inning. They only had three hits through 10 innings, all doubles … Their first single in the game came from Brendan Donovan in the 11th that drove in the automatic runner from second, their first hit in 12 at-bats with a runner in scoring position … The Cardinals left the automatic runner on third when Siani struck out to end the 10th, extending his current hitless streak to 19 at-bats … Nolan Arenado was 0-of-5, ending his streal of reaching base at 25 consecutive games.
On the mound: Lance Lynn kept the Mets scoreless through the first five innings, getting out of a jam in the fifth when he stranded runners on second and third, but Francisco Lindor tied the game with a leadoff homer in the sixth. A walk and single followed, knocking Lynn out of the game … Ryan Fernandez relieved and escaped that jam with a strikeout, fly out and a line drive to short. Fernandez also worked a 1-2-3 seventh … Giovanny Gallegos came in to start the eighth and walked the first two hitters he faced before he got two outs and Liberatore was able to get out of the inning, stranding both inherited runners. He pitched around a single in the ninth and an intentional walk in the 10th, getting an inning-ending double play … In the 11th a groundout moved the automatic runner to third before Liberatore caught a line drive for the second out, bringing up Bader.
Key stat: By going 1-of-12 with a runner in scoring position, the Cardinals' average in those situations fell to .200 for the season (45-of-225), the worst average in the National League.
Worth noting: This was the third walk-off home run hit by the Mets against the Cardinals since Citi Field opened in 2009. The last was in 2022, by Pete Alonso off Gallegos … The only two pitchers left in the bullpen who were available were John King and Nick Robertson … Jordan Walker played in his first game for Memphis and had an RBI single in four at-bats and also drew a walk … Dylan Carlson, out for the first month of the season because of a shoulder injury, is expected to join Memphis on a rehab assignment as soon as Tuesday night.
Looking ahead: The road trip continues on Monday night with the first of three games against the Tigers in Detroit. Steven Matz is the scheduled starter. Former Cardinal Jack Flaherty is scheduled to start Tuesday night’s game for the Tigers.
Follow Rob Rains on Twitter @RobRains
