The first few warm days of the year are always cause for celebration in New York City. The Mets celebrated more than just their mascot’s birthday Saturday afternoon at Citi Field.
With temperatures in the low 80s, a sellout crowd of 42,339 packed Citi Field to see the NL East-best Mets defeat the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-0.
If Saturday was a preview of what summer will look like in Flushing, then Mets fans are in for a hot one. While the Mets (14-7) didn’t exactly scorch the Cards, they did what they needed to do to win their third straight and take the series. They played excellent defense, their stars contributed and the bullpen continued to lock things down.
A two-run lead felt larger, even when right-handed ace Kodai Senga put two on in his final inning. Pete Alonso made it 3-0 with his sixth home run of the year in the bottom of the eighth, smashing a 2-2 slider from John King 443 feet to the second deck in left field.
The Polar Bear circled the bases as fans chanted “MVP.”
The game was the focal point of what felt like a party at Citi Field. There were tailgates around the stadium before the game and the atmosphere felt lively throughout all nine innings. And to think, before the season even started the Mets were facing questions about how they would recapture the magic of the 2024 season. Of course, it’s still early enough in the season that the Mets could go back to being, well, the Mets, but for now, they’re rolling and their fans are enjoying the ride.
Coming off six shutout innings against the Philadelphia Phillies his last time out, St. Louis left-hander Matthew Libertore was exceptionally tough, but Alonso and Juan Soto combined for a two-out rally in the bottom of the third.
Luisangel Acuña led off with a double to center field. Soto hit a line drive single to center to score him, and Alonso followed with an RBI double. Alonso’s 23 RBI are the second-most in the league, just one behind Aaron Judge for the lead.
Libertore (1-2) recovered well, striking out the side in the fourth and retiring it in order in the fifth. He pitched into the seventh inning, being replaced by right-hander King with two outs and Jose Azocar on first. King got the final out, keeping Libertore’s line at two runs on six hits, with one walk and six strikeouts.
Senga (3-1) blanked the Cards over 5 2/3 innings. He had traffic, giving up two hits, walking two and hitting one, but he was aided by a dynamic defense behind him.
Before third baseman Mark Vientos left the game with groin discomfort he snared a hard line drive by Brendan Donovan for the first out in the fourth, leaping about two feet in the air to make the catch. In the fifth, with a runner on third and one out, catcher Yohel Pozo hit a ground ball to Brett Baty at third, who replaced Vientos. Baty fired home, making a fantastic throw right down the line to catcher Luis Torrens, who laid the tag down on Thomas Saggese with plenty of time.
With two on and none out in the sixth, Donovan hit into a 4-6-3 double play. Senga then hit Nolan Arenado with a pitch. It was the last one he threw. Right-hander Reed Garrett came in and got the final out.
Garrett pitched a 1-2-3 seventh. A.J. Minter bent, but didn’t break in the top of the eighth, loading the bases with two outs before getting out of the jam, setting up a save for closer Edwin Diaz.
The crowd was on its feet for the trumpets. Diaz did not disappoint, making quick work of the Cards (9-12) for his fifth save in as many tries.
Oh yeah, not to mention, it was Mr. Met’s birthday. A fitting celebration, all things considered.
