The Mets will play six on the road before heading back to Citi Field.
After a brief pit stop back home, the Mets (21-11) fly back out for six on the road, beginning with three against the Cardinals (14-18). The Mets swept the Cardinals as part of their record-setting 7-0 homestand back in April and, in fact, have won eight straight against St. Louis dating back to last season. That includes a three-game sweep at Busch Stadium last May.
The Mets dropped their first home series of 2025, losing two of three to the Diamondbacks in a really brief three-game homestand. They kicked things off promisingly with an 8-3 victory on Tuesday night where they excelled on all fronts. David Peterson continued his strong start to the season with five innings of one-run ball. Offensively, the Mets got home runs from Francisco Lindor, Startling Marte, and Pete Alonso, as well as contributions from the bottom part of the lineup, to continue their offensive barrage from DC. On defense, the Mets made three Gold Glove-level plays in the fourth inning, including two from Lindor and one highlight reel grab in center by Tyrone Taylor.
The Mets suffered their second home loss of 2025 on Wednesday, falling by a 4-3 score. New York jumped ahead on a Mark Vientos solo homer against Corbin Burnes, but the offense went largely silent from there. After Huascar Brazobán provided two scoreless frames as the opener, Brandon Waddell came in as the bulk guy and, in his first MLB appearance since 2021, gave the Mets all they could have asked for and more. The lefty hurled 4 1⁄3 innings of scoreless baseball, scattering three hits while striking out four. He was lifted in the seventh for Ryne Stanek, who prompted surrendered three straight hits to make it 2-1—his third straight blown game late. Arizona tacked on two insurance runs off the recently-recalled Chris Devenski in the ninth, which proved to be huge, as the Mets mounted a ninth inning comeback. Tyrone Taylor hit a solo homer and, after the Mets loaded the bases, Jesse Winker drove in a run on a ground out that he claimed hit his foot. The umpired convened and confirmed the call, and Francisco Alvarez grounded out to end the game.
The Mets spent all of Wednesday afternoon playing catch-up and ultimately could not beat the Diamondbacks as they dropped the finale 4-2. Kodai Senga, who was dealing with a stomach bug and received an IV before the game, only lasted four innings while needing 87 pitches to complete his outing. He allowed one earned run on five hits with three walks and six strikeouts, and narrowly averted disaster when Nimmo made a nice leaping play at the wall to end the fourth—the bases were loaded, so it could have been really bad. The positive is that Juan Soto hit his first two Citi Field homers as a Met in consecutive at-bats, the first coming with his team down 2-0 and the next coming with the Mets trailing 3-1. Both were solo homers that proved futile in the end. The insurance runs allowed by Max Kranick in the seventh and Reed Garrett in the ninth ultimately proved costly to the team’s comeback efforts.
The Mets have gotten to where they are today in large part due to their pitching. Their starting pitching remains a strength, with their starters having allowed four runs or fewer in 32 consecutive games to start the season. That is the longest streak in NL history, and second-longest streak ever behind the 2022 Yankees and the 1972 Cleveland team (both 41).
The bullpen, on the other hand, has begun to show some cracks and is becoming a sore spot for New York. Through April 24, the bullpen owned a 2.35 ERA, which was second-best in the NL. From April 25 through today, the bullpen ERA is 6.28, with is fourth-worst in the NL. And they have likely lost both A.J. Minter and Danny Young for the year with significant injuries. This will be a big test for New York in the coming weeks as the weather warms up and they encounter tougher opponents.
The Cardinals enter this series after splitting four games with the Reds. They lost the first and last games at Great American Ball Park while sweeping a doubleheader in between.
Brendan Donovan remains the player to watch on St. Louis, slashing .333/.383/.487 with a team-high 144 wRC+ and a team-best 1.2 fWAR in 30 games. He finds himself third in batting in the NL, behind Fernando Tatis Jr. (.345) and Alonso (.342). Meanwhile, Lars Nootbar has also enjoyed a strong start to his 2025 campaign, hitting .254/.389/.424 with a 131 wRC+. while leading the team in home runs (five), runs scored (21), runs batted in (18) in 31 games for the Cardinals.
Friday, May 2: Clay Holmes vs. Sonny Gray, 6:45 PM EDT on SNY
Holmes (2025): 30.2 IP, 36 K, 13 BB, 0 HR, 2.64 ERA, 2.20 FIP, 67 ERA-
Holmes picked up his third win in his last five starts with five shutout frames against the Nationals. For the first time this year, he did not walk a batter, and he allowed just four hits. He did strike out a season-low two batters. and he threw a season-low 70 pitches, due in large part to his outing being interrupted by rain in the first inning. He navigated that unforeseen circumstance well, and he continues to excel in his new role. The Mets have won each of his last five starts. Among qualified NL starters, Holmes finds himself 11th in ERA (2.64), sixth in FIP (2.20), and ninth in K% (27.5%).
Gray (2025): 35.0 IP, 33 K, 7 BB, 5 HR, 3.60 ERA, 3.82 FIP, 89 ERA-
Gray got off to a rocky start for St. Louis this year, posting a 5.73 ERA over his first two starts. Since then, he’s posted a 2.63 ERA in his last four starts, which included seven shutout innings against the Astros on April 14. His last time out, he settled for a no-decision as he allowed three earned runs on a season-high seven hits and three walks over six innings. He faced the Mets back on April 20 and allowed three earned runs on six hits, with one walk and six strikeouts over six innings. That game, incidentally, is the only game he’s started that St. Louis has lost this season.
Saturday, May 3: Tylor Megill vs. Erick Fedde, 2:15 PM EDT on SNY
Megill (2025): 31.0 IP, 39 K, 12 BB, 1 HR, 1.74 ERA, 2.34 FIP, 44 ERA-
Megill concluded his month by allowing three earned runs on three hits over 6 1⁄3 innings. The final line is a bit misleading, as he really pitched better than the line shows and had a couple of inherited runners cross the plate during that disastrous collapse in Washington. He struck out nine and has punched out 19 over his last two outings. Megill is now third among NL qualified starters in ERA (1.74) and ERA- (44), fifth in K% (29.8%), and eighth in FIP (2.34). He usually starts strong, as evidenced by his terrific March/April stats, so now the goal is to keep it going beyond the season’s opening month.
Fedde (2025): 32.2 IP, 17 K, 16 BB, 3 HR, 4.68 ERA, 4.79 FIP, 116 ERA-
Fedde’s overall numbers are somewhat inflated by his last start, which was really bad. Against Milwaukee on April 27, he was tagged for a season-high seven earned runs and ten hits over 5 2⁄3 innings as he endured his third loss of 2025. As a result, his ERA ballooned from 3.33 to 4.68.. Walks remain the big issue for the right-hander, as his BB% (11.8%) is currently second-worst among qualified NL starters. Fedde has a lot of experience pitching against the Mets and, historically, he has struggled against New York. In 17 appearances (12 starts) against the Mets, he owns a 6.51 ERA in 65 innings.
Sunday, May 4: TBD vs. Andre Pallante, 2:15 PM EDT on WPIX
TBD
The Mets are opting to use a spot on Sunday and push Griffin Canning back by one day. Importantly, this would get Kodai Senga an extra day of rest before his next start—presumably on Wednesday. The sixth starter has yet to be announced.
Pallante (2025): 32.2 IP, 20 K, 12 BB, 2 HR, 4.13 ERA, 5.34 FIP, 102 ERA-
Pallante is coming off a hard luck loss to Cincinnati his last time out. He allowed three earned runs on six hits over six innings, but he was the recipient of very little offense as St. Louis fell 3-1. He already has one start against the Mets this season, suffering the loss on April 17 as he allowed four earned runs on seven hits over six innings. One positive from that start is it remains the lone start this year where he did not walk a batter.