Mets go hitless with runners in scoring position in walk-off loss to Cardinals

Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News on Apr 1, 2026

Published in Baseball

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Time after time, the Mets had opportunities to break Wednesday afternoon’s game open.

And time after time, their new-look lineup failed to come through.

The Mets went 0 for 11 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base in a 2-1 extra-inning loss to the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

Their struggles loomed particularly large late in the game, as the Mets went 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position over the final three frames.

Those missed opportunities set the stage for a walk-off bloop single by the Cardinals’ Masyn Winn in the 11th.

“We’ve just got to get back to what we do well, which is controlling the strike zone, getting good pitches to hit and doing damage,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Good hitters that, right now for a couple of games, they’re not getting it done.”

The defeat was the second in a row for the Mets (3-3), who dropped two of three in St. Louis for their first series loss of the season.

The Mets are now 11 for 68 (.162) with runners in scoring position this year, including 0 for 15 in the last two games and 1 for 29 in the last three.

They have scored just one run over the past 23 innings, a stretch that includes Tuesday night’s 3-0 loss. After scoring 11 runs on Opening Day, the Mets have totaled just 12 runs in the five games since.

“I still believe in what we have,” shortstop Francisco Lindor said. “[President of baseball operations David] Stearns and the front office did a good job of putting a good team together, and we have a good team. … We are a couple of pitches away from continuing to get the ball rolling on our side.”

Wednesday’s missed opportunities became increasingly dramatic.

It was a 1-1 game entering the ninth, and Jorge Polanco led off the Mets’ half of the inning with a double against reliever Riley O’Brien.

But Luis Robert Jr. struck out and Brett Baty grounded out, sending pinch-runner Jared Young to third. Young was stranded there as Marcus Semien struck out to end the ninth.

The score remained the same going into the 10th, and Semien started the inning at second base as the automatic runner.

But Francisco Alvarez grounded back to reliever Justin Bruihl, who nabbed Semien at third base for a force out. Alvarez made it to second on the play, but Carson Benge popped out, Lindor walked and Juan Soto popped out on the first pitch he saw.

And after Tobias Myers kept the Cardinals off the board in the bottom of the 10th, the Mets loaded the bases with one out in the top of the 11th.

But Baty grounded into a force out, with Soto getting tagged out at home. Semien then flew out against reliever Gordon Graceffo, leaving the bases loaded.

“With runners in scoring position, there’s a few things there,” Mendoza said. “Ultra-aggressive at times. Expanding at times as well.”

That was the Mets’ final chance on offense.

With two outs in the bottom of the 11th, Wynn popped up a Myers cutter, and the ball landed just out of the reach of a diving Benge in right field, allowing the winning run to score from third.

The late-inning drama followed a pitchers’ duel between new Mets ace Freddy Peralta and Cardinals left-hander Matthew Liberatore.

Liberatore retired the Mets’ first 14 batters, and he did not allow a run until the sixth inning, when Soto smacked his first home run of the season — a solo shot — off the bottom of the right-field foul pole.

That inning could have been bigger, however, had Lindor not been picked off at first base at the start of Soto’s at-bat.

Protecting a 1-0 lead, Peralta ran into trouble in the bottom of the sixth, as rookie JJ Wetherholt led off with a single and Iván Herrera followed with a walk.

Peralta struck out Alec Burleson for the first out of the inning, then gave way to reliever Huascar Brazobán at 92 pitches.

Brazobán quickly blew the lead, serving up a two-out RBI single to Nolan Gorman that tied the score, 1-1.

That run was credited to Peralta, who finished with a line of 5 1/3 innings, one earned run, three hits, two walks and seven strikeouts.

“As a pitcher, I like to compete, and I always want to [stay] in the game,” Peralta said, adding, “I gave up a base hit to the leadoff guy. … I think at the end of the day, it was smart by Mendy. The game was on the line.”

Peralta took a no-decision. The right-hander has a 4.35 ERA through two starts with the Mets, who acquired him and Myers in an offseason trade that sent top prospects Brandon Sproat and Jett Williams to Milwaukee.

Next up for the Mets is a four-game series in San Francisco, beginning Thursday night. David Peterson, who threw 5 1/3 scoreless innings in his season debut, is set to start for the Mets, while Robbie Ray (0-1, 3.38 ERA) is scheduled to pitch for the Giants.