Mets Stumble at Home: Peralta Struggles in 7-0 Loss to Cardinals

The New York Mets’ homestand got off to a dismal start as they were blanked 7-0 by the St. Louis Cardinals at Citi Field. Freddy Peralta endured one of his toughest outings of the season, surrendering six of the seven runs, with four of those coming in a disastrous third inning. Meanwhile, the Mets’ offense struggled to find any rhythm against Cardinals’ starter Dustin May, failing to capitalize on scoring opportunities throughout the game, a recurring theme this season.

Both teams had a quiet first inning, but the Mets found their first baserunner in the second when AJ Ewing hit a one-out double. Ewing would be the only Met to achieve a multi-hit game this evening. A passed ball by rookie catcher Jimmy Crooks allowed Ewing to advance to third, but May responded by striking out Marcus Semien and Brett Baty back-to-back, extinguishing the early threat.

The game took a turn for the worse for the Mets in the third inning. Peralta opened the frame by walking Nolan Gorman, followed by a double from Nathan Church that put runners on second and third with no outs. Rookie JJ Wetherholt then delivered a single that scored both runners, marking the Cardinals’ first runs of the game. Peralta hit Iván Herrera with a pitch shortly after but managed to strike out Alec Burleson for the first out. However, Jordan Walker doubled to drive in Wetherholt, extending the Cardinals’ lead to 3-0. In a moment of confusion, Lars Nootbaar grounded to Semien, who held the runners before throwing to first. Herrera took advantage of the situation, breaking for home and beating the throw, making it 4-0 in favor of the Cardinals.

The Mets had chances to chip away at the deficit over the next two innings. Francisco Alvarez, returning from the injured list, singled with one out in the third but was quickly erased on a double play by Carson Benge. In the fourth, Juan Soto broke an 0-for-16 slump with a one-out single, and Jared Young managed to avoid a double play after the Mets successfully challenged an out call at first base. Marcus Semien had a promising drive, but Nathan Church made an impressive basket catch on the warning track, keeping the Mets off the board.

In the fifth inning, the Cardinals added to their lead as Iván Herrera blooped a single in front of Ewing, who misplayed the ball, allowing it to drop. Alec Burleson capitalized on the mistake, launching a two-run homer over the left-center field wall, pushing the Cardinals ahead 6-0. Despite high pitch counts, both Peralta and May completed six innings. The Cardinals scored again in the seventh, with back-to-back doubles from Herrera, who reached base five times on the night, and Burleson, extending the lead to 7-0.

Joey Gerber was brought in to finish the game for the Mets but exited the mound in the ninth with what appeared to be a blister issue, leaving Cionel Pérez to pitch a scoreless frame. Justin Bruihl and Matt Svanson combined for three scoreless innings in relief for the Cardinals, as the Mets were shut out for the fourth time this season.

Note: This recap is an independently written summary based on publicly available reporting.