QUEENS, NY — A four-run second inning started by Mark Vientos’ first home run of the season and some savvy directing from Francisco Lindor on the basepaths lifted the New York Mets to a 4-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night at Citi Field.
The win snaps the Mets’ (12-7) two-game losing streak after dropping the final pair of their set in Minnesota against the Twins.
Griffin Canning rebounded from a poor start in Sacramento against the Athletics, allowing just one run on three hits with eight strikeouts and two walks across a season-high six innings on 102 pitches.
He recorded six of those strikeouts in a nine-batter span between the third and fifth innings, including four in a row between the fourth and fifth — a strong showing after dealing with a strength-sapping illness in recent days.
“We needed at least five from him, and we were going to watch him closely because he was weak a couple of days ago,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “But we felt good about him taking the ball today… Watching him go out and continue to execute pitches and hold the velo, he wasn’t missing his spots. It was a good outing by him.”
His fastball was working especially well. Five of his eight punchouts came on the four-seamer, and all of them were swinging.
“I felt like they were sitting off-speed,” Canning said. “I felt the fastball had pretty good life, and I was kind of rolling with what was working.”
Vientos sparked the Mets’ four-run second inning when he snuck his first home run of the season just over the right-field fence. He was late on a four-seam fastball from Cardinals starter Andre Pallante, but muscled it off the end of the bat 339 feet off the base of the foul pole to open his ledger in 2025 after hitting 27 last year.
“It’s a good feeling for sure,” Vientos said. “Just trying to stay positive, have good at-bats. It’s easy to stay positive when you’re team is winning.”
Following a Starling Marte double, Brett Baty blooped a two-out single in front of left-fielder Lars Nootbar to make it a 2-0 game. The knock was the second baseman’s fifth hit in his previous 14 at-bats — a sign of life for a lefty bat that had struggled so mightily to start the season.
Tyrone Taylor singled to put runners on first and second for Lindor, who knocked a single up the middle. Baty came in to score while Taylor moved to third. Thinking the throw was going home, Lindor began heading to second when the throw from right field was cut off.
Realizing he was stuck in a run-down, Lindor began to wave to Taylor to go home furiously, which he did, crossing the plate before Lindor was tagged out to score the fourth and final run of the inning.
“It was a bad play turned into an OK play,” Lindor said. “Out of the hand, I saw [Cardinals right fielder Jordan Walker], and I’m thinking ‘If he overthrows the cut-offman, I’m gonna put myself in position, thinking me and Tyrone could be on second and third for Soto.
“[Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras] just cut it, and then it turned into how do we get Tyrone to home plate? Just try to survive as long as I can to get him to score. Tyrone did a fantastic job of reading how aggressive they were toward me, and went to the plate.”
The Cardinals plated their only run in the third, when Brendan Donovan’s infield hit scored Victor Scott from third.
Canning responded by retiring 10 of the next 11 men he faced — the only hit coming on an Alec Burleson bunt single in the fourth.
Reed Garrett, AJ Minter, and Edwin Diaz closed the Cardinals out with a scoreless inning each.
