Former Royal Carlos Beltran reached base five times with two doubles, a single and two walks. Angel Pagan and Daniel Murphy hit two-run doubles and the National League’s leading hitter was back in the Mets’ lineup as the Cardinals dropped their series opener 4-2 at Citi Field in New York.

Jose Reyes returned from the DL and not only contributed with his bat, but helped out in the field. Reyes had two hits and scored a run in five at-bats. It was his 44th multihit game of the season.

His biggest assist to his team came in the 8th inning. With one out and runners on first and second, Jon Jay hit a sharp grounder between shortstop and third base. Reyes made a diving stop to hold the runner at third, loading the bases for Albert Pujols, who hit a grounder that Reyes fielded right at second base. He stepped on the bag and made a strong throw to nail Pujols at first. It was Pujols’ major league-leading 22nd double play.

Mets rookie Dillon Gee (9-3) pitched seven sharp innings. Gee didn’t allow a hit until the fifth inning when the Cardinals pushed a run across. Then in the seventh, Lance Berkman got to Gee with a towering home run that measured 448 feet. It was his 26th of the year.

Cardinals pitcher Kyle Lohse drove in the Cardinals other run in the fifth inning scoring Berkman on a single.

The Mets turned the game over to former Cards’ closer Jason Isringhausen who pitched a perfect 9th for his first save since 2008, when he was with St. Louis. Izzy saved 217 games with the Cardinals before being injured.

Pittsburgh and Milwaukee won. The Pirates are up 1.5 games on St. Louis.