Carlos Carrasco’s first inning woes threatened to reappear in St. Louis, as with two outs, three straight batters reached base on two singles and a very dubious error charged to Francisco Lindor. The third—Corey Dickerson—staked the Cardinals to an early 1-0 lead.
The Mets answered right back in the top of the second against old friend Steven Matz. After Pete Alonso and Eduardo Escobar led off with back-to-back singles, Matz recorded two outs and seemed poised to escape the jam. In a scene familiar to Mets fans, Matz seemed to unravel a bit after he was unable to field a Luis Guillorme ground ball that left the bases loaded.