So even when Flores and Curtis Granderson led off the 18th with back-to-back singles off Cardinals right hander Carlos Martinez there was only tentative hope for the Mets.
Advertisement
After the Mets broke the scoreless tie in the top of the 13th inning, Jeurys Familia, in his first appearance since last Sunday, gave up a leadoff home run in the bottom of the 13th.
Randal Grichuk gave replacement Carlos Torres no quarter, muscling a ball 389 feet to the opposite field for his eighth home run, and punctuating another four-run frame.
New York loaded the bases with two singles and an error by pitcher Carlos Martinez (10-4) on a sacrifice bunt attempt by Kevin Plawecki.
Bartolo Colon allowed two earned runs in 13 innings his last two outings before the All-Star break.
The last Mets game to last longer than 16 innings was June 8, 2013 vs. Miami, a 2-1 loss in 20 innings at Citi Field.
Josh Reddick hit a grand slam, highlighting an Oakland display of power that featured five home runs in a 14-1 win over Minnesota. St. Louis went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position. “Obviously it’s hot- that’s nothing new to me- but it’s tough to stay hydrated when you’re not feeling well”, he said, adding he got IV fluids after the game. “It’s a shame but they just kept coming”.
Collins said he was concerned about Michael Cuddyer because the left fielder was forced to exit the game after experiencing discomfort in his knee after running the bases in the eighth inning. We tried to hit and run, we couldn’t score. On a steamy day with a game-time temperature of 92 degrees – a thermometer in the photographers’ well down the first-base line read over 100 – both Cy Young Award winning starters, CC Sabathia and Felix Hernandez, were done after six impressive innings with the score tied 1-1. Both teams combined to leave 39 men on base. “We aren’t happy about that”.
As important as it was for them avoid the sweep, the series with the Nationals that begins today is the more important matchup. Bumgarner gave up one run in five innings and four relievers held the lead as the Giants won their sixth straight. Rookie Sean Gilmartin threw three innings for the first time in his career. Tim Cooney’s two-out single in the home fifth put runners at the corners prior to Wong lining out to center. Jhonny Peralta singled with one out and went to third on a two-out double by Yadier Molina before Familia struck out Tommy Pham to extend the game.
And the Mets pushed across an insurance run in the 18th with a squeeze play (note the strong effort by the Cardinals to turn it into a double play)… TRAINER’S ROOM Cardinals: OF Jason Heyward didn’t start after exiting Saturday night’s game because of leg cramps. Heyward also has been dealing with a head cold that Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said has been making the rounds through the clubhouse.
In the top of the ninth, Eric Campbell worked a one-out walk pinch hitting for the pitcher, only to be caught stealing – by a mile – to make the third out with Murphy at the plate.
Mets: New York opens a three-game series at Washington in their second of three consecutive series against NL division leaders.
Advertisement
Collins has Matt Harvey, deGrom and Noah Syndergaard aligned to face the Nationals and expects the Mets to be ready, despite Sunday’s marathon. Gio Gonzalez starts for the Nats.
