Without both of their trophy-winning aces — and three of their top six starters altogether — the undeterred Mets continued to rack up wins Thursday at Citi Field.
Max Scherzer joined fellow multi-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom on the injured list, but the Mets overcame a blown save by Edwin Diaz on Pete Alonso’s two-run homer in the 10th for an exhilarating 7-6 win over the Cardinals.
“This group is extremely special, not just the character, but work ethic, as well. We just want to put our best foot forward and win every day, no matter who’s in the lineup, no matter who we’re facing, we want to win,” Alonso said after the Mets improved to 26-14 entering a six-game road trip beginning Friday in Colorado. “No matter what we’ve got, we’re gonna give 100 percent of what’s out there.
“So for us, it sucks to hear about Max but we’re gonna battle and play hard behind whoever’s gonna throw the ball for us. I just want him to have a speedy recovery and get back as quickly and safely as possible.”
The first-place Mets will need Chris Bassitt, their projected No. 3 starter, to front the rotation along with veterans Carlos Carrasco and Taijuan Walker in the extended absence of deGrom (shoulder) and Scherzer, who is expected to miss six to eight weeks with a strained oblique. Fellow starter Tylor Megill also is on the injured list with a biceps injury.
Bassitt, a 2021 All-Star with the A’s, gave up four earned runs on nine hits over 6 ¹/₃ innings for a 2.77 ERA through eight starts. He allowed a solo home run to Juan Yepez in the second, and another to Paul Goldschmidt one inning later, before the Cardinals grabbed a 3-2 lead on Goldschmidt’s RBI double in the fifth.
Brandon Nimmo’s run-scoring groundout tied the score in the bottom half before Jeff McNeil, who’d also driven a run with an infield out in the first, plated two more with a bases-loaded single for a 5-3 lead.
“I didn’t really have much today. It was one of those grinding outings,” Bassitt said. “But overall you just pride yourself when you don’t feel the best that you give yourself a chance to win.”
McNeil also made a leaping catch against the side wall in foul territory in left field on Goldschmidt’s sac fly with Drew Smith pitching in relief of Bassitt in the seventh to cut the Mets’ lead to one. McNeil threw out Brendan Donovan at second attempting to advance on the play, but Tommy Edman crossed the plate ahead of the out at second.
“We’ve been dealing with some things happening and it just shows a lot about this team,” McNeil said. “We’re coming here every single day fighting and battling, no matter who’s on the field. We’re playing some good baseball and I’m looking forward to the rest of the season with this squad.”
Diaz couldn’t preserve a 5-4 lead for Bassitt in the ninth. With runners on the corners and two outs, third baseman Eduardo Escobar couldn’t come up with what was ruled an infield single for Goldschmidt to tie the score. The go-ahead run against Colin Holderman in the 10th scored on a double-play grounder by retiring star Albert Pujols in likely his final at-bat in Flushing.
But with Francisco Lindor serving as the automatic runner at second base, Alonso crushed Cardinals closer Giovanny Gallegos’ 1-0 slider into the second deck in left for his 10th of the season and his third career walk-off blast.
“I’ve said this before, we’re just a bunch of resilient guys. We’re gritty and we love to win,” added Alonso, who leads the majors with 36 RBIs. “When you get guys that are talented and love to win and are a group of tough men, you get games like this.
“Regardless of the score or the circumstances, we’re always continuing to fight back.”
