NEW YORK — Cardinals outfielder/designated hitter Alec Burleson and catcher Willson Contreras provided all the scoring with two swings and Miles Mikolas and the bullpen made that stand up on a chilly night in Flushing, New York.
The Cardinals entered the day with the second-fewest home runs of any club in the majors, but they swatted a pair against a previously stingy New York Mets pitcher on their way to a 4-2 win in the series opener at Citi Field on Friday night.
The Cardinals have now won 11 of their last 16 games against the Mets in New York.
Burleson hit his first home run of the season, a three-run homer that started the scoring, and Contreras blasted his second home run in his last three games on a night when the Cardinals (12-14) collected just five hits and all their runs scored via home runs.
Paul Goldschmidt, Brendan Donovan and Brandon Crawford also had hits for the Cardinals.
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Mikolas (2-3) allowed two runs on seven hits, including one home run, in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out five batters and didn’t give up a walk.
The Cardinals bullpen two-headed dragon out of left-hander JoJo Romero and right-hander Andrew Kittredge, who came into the night tied for the major-league lead with eight holds apiece, bridged the gap from the end of Mikolas’ outing to closer Ryan Helsley in the ninth inning.
Helsley tossed a scoreless ninth inning for his eighth save of the season in nine chances.
Cardinals take big swings against Buttó
Mets starting pitcher José Buttó came into the game having allowed as many runs (three) as he’d made starts (three) this season. He’d entered the day with a 1.65 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings.
The Cardinals took advantage of Buttó’s control issues in the second inning. After Buttó hit Nolan Arenado with a pitch and walked Paul Goldschmidt, he left a 1-1 changeup over the inner half of the plate to Burleson.
Burleson mashed Buttó’s changeup 412 feet to right field for his first home run of the season. That swing gave the Cardinals a 3-0 advantage and matched the amount of runs Buttó allowed in his three previous starts.
The Cardinals tacked on a fourth run in the third inning courtesy of Contreras’ solo blast. Contreras jumped on a first-pitch fastball and crushed it an estimated 445 feet into the second deck of the ballpark. The ball came off Contreras’ bat with an exit velocity of 114.2 mph.
Contreras’ fourth home run of the season gave the Cardinals a 4-0 lead at that point in the third inning.
Mikolas got a beefed-up Mets lineup
The Mets added six-time All-Star and three-time Silver Slugger Award winner J.D. Martinez to their lineup for the first time on Friday night. Martinez served as the designated hitter and batted fifth in the Mets lineup.
Martinez signed a free-agent deal with the Mets on March 23. He’d played in games for Single-A St. Lucie and Triple-A Syracuse in preparation for joining the major-league club.
Despite Martinez’s addition, Mikolas held the Mets to seven hits and two runs to earn his first win since April 2. The last run he allowed came on an RBI double by Martinez off the right field wall on in the sixth inning.
Martinez went 2 for 2 against Mikolas in his first game of the season.
The Mets entered the night with a slash line of .277/.346/.432 with 97 runs scored and 20 home runs in their previous 17 games.
Mikolas gave up a solo home run in the fifth inning to backup catcher Tomás Nido for the Mets’ first run of the game. In the sixth, Francisco Lindor doubled and scored on Martinez’s double to pull the Mets within two runs.
Reliever JoJo Romero struck out Jeff McNeil to strand Martinez and end the sixth inning.
Getting reacquainted with Bader
Former Cardinals center fielder Harrison Bader started in center field for the New York Mets on Friday night. He came in on a ball and made a sliding catch to steal a base hit away from Goldschmidt in the third inning.
Bader won a Gold Glove with the Cardinals in 2021.
Bader, a third-round draft pick of the Cardinals in 2015, made his major-league debut in 2017 and remained with the club until the trade deadline in 2022. He made his return to ºüÀêÊÓƵ last season as a member of the New York Yankees.
This offseason, he signed a one-year deal with the Mets.
The Cardinals and Mets played for the first time this season on Friday night, but they’ll play all six of their games this season within the next two weeks.
Following this weekend’s three-game series at Citi Field, the Cardinals will host the Mets in a three-game series at Busch Stadium from May 6-8.