Cardinals Blank Mets for Sixth Straight Win

The Cardinals celebrating a win over the Mets

Photo by Ishika Samant/Getty Images

June 11, 2026

Cardinals 9, Mets 2

The St. Louis Cardinals kept rolling Wednesday night at Citi Field, pounding the New York Mets, 9-2, for their sixth consecutive victory. Jordan Walker drove in four runs, highlighted by a three-run home run in the fourth inning. Andre Pallante earned the win with six innings of two-run baseball, while Austin Warren took the loss after the Cardinals scored twice against him in the first. The Cardinals have won the first two games of the series by a combined score of 16-2.

Cardinals Jump on the Opener

The Mets turned to right-hander Warren as an opener for the second time this season, and the plan unraveled immediately. Walker lined an RBI single to center in the first inning, scoring JJ Wetherholt and sending Ivan Herrera to third. Later in the inning, Masyn Winn grounded into a potential side-retiring double play. However, he beat the relay to first, plating Herrera for a 2-0 lead. Warren lasted one inning, throwing 33 pitches and surrendered two runs.

David Peterson entered as the bulk reliever in the third and coughed up six runs on seven hits across 3 2/3 innings. Nelson Velázquez took him deep with a two-run homer to left-center in the third, scoring Winn. In the fourth, Walker launched a three-run blast to center — his 17th home run of the season — scoring Wetherholt and Herrera to make it 7-0. José Fermín tacked on an RBI single in the fifth, scoring Nathan Church. Alec Burleson capped the night with a solo home run off Jonathan Pintaro in the ninth. Prior to Pintaro’s appearance, Cionel Pérez tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief.

Pallante Stays Steady

Pallante pitched six innings and allowed two runs on three hits, striking out five with two walks on 93 pitches. The lone blemish came in the bottom of the fourth, when Francisco Alvarez connected for a two-run home run to left that scored A.J. Ewing and cut the deficit to 7-2. However, Pallante shut the door from there, and the Mets never threatened again. JoJo Romero and Matt Svanson finished the job with three hitless innings of relief. Svanson needed only 13 pitches for the final two frames. Overall, the Mets managed three hits and went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.

Walker Reaches a Milestone

Walker went 2-for-5 with the home run and a game-high four RBI. He entered the night with 48 RBI, three shy of the career high he set as a rookie in 2023 — meaning Wednesday’s performance pushed him past that mark before the middle of June. Meanwhile, Wetherholt went 3-for-5 and scored twice, and Herrera reached base three times with two walks, also scoring twice. Eleven hits and three home runs gave the Cardinals their second straight comfortable victory in Queens.

What Went Right for the Cardinals

Walker’s Big Night

An RBI single in the first and three-run homer in the fourth gave Walker four RBI. He has been the engine of this offense for weeks, and Wednesday was more of the same.

Power Up and Down the Lineup

Velázquez, Walker, and Burleson all went deep. Three home runs from three different spots in the order is the mark of an offense that can hurt opposing pitching anywhere.

Spotless Relief

Romero and Svanson combined for three hitless innings after Pallante’s exit. Once the starter departed, the Mets never put a runner in scoring position. In fact, after the Alvarez dinger in the fourth, the Mets only had one batter even reach base. That came when Romero plunked the second-to-last batter of the game.

What Went Wrong for the Cardinals

Nootbaar’s Quiet Night

Lars Nootbaar went 0-for-4 and is still searching for consistency at the plate. In a nine-run outburst, his struggles were easy to overlook. They will matter more in closer games.

Quick Hits

The Cardinals improved to 37-28 and now lead the season series 4-1.
The Mets fell to 29-38 with the loss.
Velázquez’s home run was his second of the season.
The Cardinals went 3-for-9 with runners in scoring position; the Mets went 0-for-6.

Looking Ahead

Andre Pallante (7-4, 3.88 ERA) earned the win for the Cardinals as Austin Warren (1-3, 2.70) took the loss for the Mets.

The Cardinals and Mets wrap up their three-game series Thursday, June 11 at 12:10 pm Central at Citi Field. Hunter Dobbins (1-0, 2.77), making his fourth start for the Cardinals, will face Christian Scott (2-0, 2.50) for the Mets.