Mets’ starting pitcher Tim Redding won for the first time in 11 starts going back to last year. He certainly didn’t look like the 0-2 pitcher he is. Redding pitched seven plus innings and gave up a two run homer to Ryan Ludwick and a solo homer to Brendan Ryan, but held off the Cardinals enough to give his team a 5-4 win.
Todd Wellemeyer on the other hand looked his usual shaky self. He pitched 5.2 innings and gave up all five runs while allowing 10 hits and four walks. Albert Pujols 1 for 4 with a double as Mets’ pitcher got him out in key situations. The Cardinals kept battling the whole night, but could never quite catch the Mets.
The Cardinals were down 2-0 after the first inning and got a run back in the third. The Mets added single runs in the fourth and fifth to go up 4-1. That’s when Ludwick connected for his 11th homer of the year to draw St. Louis to 4-3, but the Mets answered with another run in the bottom of the sixth to go up 5-3. Ryan made it a one run game again with his first homer of the year to end lead off the eighth ending Redding’s night.
Albert Pujols flew out with the tying run to end the inning and in the bottom half of the inning, a close play at the plate as Rick Ankiel fired a throw in from center field on a base hit that was up the third base line. On some replay angles, it looked like Yadier Molina tagged Luis Castillo who was trying to score and on others it looked like he missed. That provided another insurance run for the Mets who then closed out the game with Francisco Rodriquez.
The guy is almost automatic in the 9 th , he picked up his 19 th save with a three up and three down inning. Milwaukee had the night off, so the Cards lose a half game, but are still up one in the NL Central.
