On the same night an ESPN documentary on the 1986 New York Mets made its debut, a different kind of drama played out Tuesday featuring the Mets and the St. Louis Cardinals, as both teams chase the second National League Wild Card spot in the waning days of the 2021 season.
Dueling late inning home runs. Extra innings. Gold Glove caliber defense. Put it all together with key late hits by unheralded players like Edmundo Sosa, Andrew Knizner and Jose Rondon and you get a 7-6 Cardinals win over the Mets at Citi Field.
Tyler O’Neill’s two-run home run (26) in the top of the eighth inning off Jeurys Familia gave the Cardinals a 4-3 lead, only to have New York’s Javier Baez tie it up with a shot of his own off, his 31st on the season, off Giovanny Gallegos.
In the tenth, the Mets had Alex Reyes on the ropes with runners on first and third with one out, when Paul Goldschmidt started a double play to put the fire out.
The Cardinals would capitalize on their opportunities in the 11th.
KK Kim gave up two runs in the bottom of the 11th but retired Albert Almora, Jr. with two on and two out to extinguish New York’s hopes.
The win puts the Cardinals (75-69) temporarily in sole possession of the National League’s second Wild Card spot. The Padres would tie them with a late night win on the West Coast. The Padres face the Cardinals in a weekend series at Busch Stadium starting Friday. The Cincinnati Reds fell to 75-70 with a loss against the Pittsburgh Pirates Tuesday night.
The Cardinals and Mets wrap up their three-game set Wednesday night starting at 6:10 CT.