Cards rally in the ninth inning against Mets before rain suspends play
NEW YORK (AP) — The game between the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets was suspended because of rain Thursday night, moments after Harrison Bader hit an RBI double with two outs in the top of the ninth inning that made it 4-all.
Play will resume Friday at 6:10 p.m. beginning in the bottom of the ninth. That will be followed by the regularly scheduled game between the teams.
St. Louis scored twice in the ninth off closer Edwin Diaz to tie it, capping a bizarre sequence that saw umpires reverse their call and order the tarp off the field right after it had been rolled out.
Rain was falling hard when New York took the field for the ninth with a 4-2 lead, and umps ordered the field covered. As the tarp got spread, rookie first baseman Pete Alonso and several other Mets pleaded their case to play on.
After the umps and both managers met in the middle of the diamond, the call was overturned — no review of the weather map needed. The grounds crew finished working on the field and action resumed after a nine-minute wait.
Kolten Wong hit an RBI single off the left field wall with two outs against Diaz, then scored when Bader doubled into the corner. Wong managed to keep his footing on the soaked dirt as he rounded third, helped when shortstop Amed Rosario had trouble handling the wet ball on a weak relay.
Bader was thrown out after he slipped and fell between second and third. The field was covered after that, and the suspension was announced 50 minutes later.
The Mets top the majors with 15 blown saves, including three by Diaz in 17 tries.
New York starter Jacob deGrom pitched seven efficient innings. And a little fit, too.
Bader doubled in the St. Louis third, stole third and scored with two outs when Matt Carpenter hit an easy grounder to an empty spot on the left side of the infield.
When the inning ended, deGrom slammed his glove to the floor in the dugout. Not done, the NL Cy Young Award winner picked up his mitt and zinged it off the wall, ricocheting around a Mets trainer sitting nearby.
Michael Conforto connected for a two-run homer off Jack Flaherty, the Mets’ team-record 17th straight home game with a long ball. Paul DeJong went deep for St. Louis.
OH, BABY!
Mets catcher Wilson Ramos got a big surprise when he was in the on-deck circle in the fourth inning: His wife made her way down to the screen and held up a sign that said, “We’re Pregnant!”
Moments later, Ramos struck out looking. This will be the couple’s third child.
BADER’S BACKERS
This was the first big league game in New York for Bader, who grew up in nearby Bronxville. His mom, dad and 150 people from his high school came out to root for him, and he rewarded them with two doubles, a single, two steals and a nifty catch on Rosario’s bases-loaded sacrifice fly.
TRUE BLUES
The Cardinals joined in the celebration for the St. Louis Blues winning their first Stanley Cup, cheering in the visitors’ clubhouse at Miami after a 9-0 loss Wednesday night. The Cards watched most of the third period as the Blues beat Boston 4-1 in Game 7, the hockey game ending shortly before they boarded the bus to the airport.
“We counted it down and the ‘Let’s go, Blues!’ chants started,” manager Mike Shildt said.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cardinals: RHP Ryan Helsley (shoulder impingement) was put on the 10-day injured list and rookie lefty Génesis Cabrera was recalled from Triple-A Memphis.
UP NEXT
Cardinals: In the regularly scheduled game, RHP Daniel Ponce de Leon (0-0, 1.80 ERA) starts in place of injured Adam Wainwright (hamstring).
Mets: LHP Steven Matz (5-4, 3.88) is 0-3 with an 8.49 ERA in three career starts vs. St. Louis. Overall, the Mets have won the last seven times Matz has started at Citi Field.
