David Peterson struggles in relief as Mets drop second straight to Cardinals, 9-2

The Mets were routed for a second straight night by the St. Louis Cardinals, losing 9-2 on Wednesday night at Citi Field.

>The Cardinals have outscored the Mets 16-2 in the two games to start this six-game homestand.

Here are the takeaways...-The Mets’ offense continues to be woefully inconsistent. After a strong series in San Diego seemed to give them some momentum, they’ve managed only eight hits in two games against the Cardinals, including three on Wednesday night.  The Mets did manage to get runners into scoring position six times tonight, but went 0-for-6 in those situations.

>-The only real good news offensively for the Mets was Francisco Alvarez’s two-run home run in the third inning, cutting the Cardinals’ lead to 7-2. It was Alvarez’s second game back from the IL after his remarkably fast recovery from meniscus surgery on his right knee. After catching on Tuesday, Alvarez was in the lineup as the DH tonight, as the Mets want to both ease him back into action as well as give Luis Torrens the playing time behind the plate he has earned.

>-It was also notable that A.J. Ewing walked ahead of Alvarez’s home run, making it a two-run shot. The rookie continues to show remarkable plate discipline in working counts and laying off tough pitches.

>-The Mets couldn’t do much with Cardinals’ righthander Andre Pallante, who gave up only three hits over six innings, including the Alvarez home run. Pallante has been solid for the Cards, pitching to a 3.88 ERA, but he has a statistical quirk, with a 9.00 ERA in the first inning this season, tied for the highest of all qualified starters. However, the Mets couldn’t take advantage, going 1-2-3 in the first inning.

>-Rookie right-hander Jonathan Pintaro had a strong outing for the Mets, pitching three innings in relief, allowing only one hit and one run, a home run by Alec Burleson.

>-David Peterson’s run of dominance out of the bullpen as a bulk reliever came to an end as the lefty gave up six runs in 3.2 innings, including a three-run home run to Jordan Walker that blew the game open.

>-Coming into tonight, Peterson had a 1.88 ERA in six appearances as a reliever, spanning 24 innings, compared to a 7.56 ERA in seven starts. He also had a whopping 1.950 WHIP as a starter. But this relief outing didn't follow this trend. Peterson never looked sharp, giving up seven hits and two walks, and on the home run to Walker, his 1-1 fastball was left hanging agonizingly over the plate.  For the season, Peterson now has a 5.75 ERA.

>-The Mets used an opener tonight, using reliever Austin Warren to start the game. Warren couldn’t command his signature slider/sweeper, which he throws on nearly 50 percent of his pitches, and gave up two walks and two hits, which led to two first-inning runs for the Cardinals.

Game MVP: Jordan WalkerJordan Walker delivered the biggest hit for the Cardinals, a three-run home run in the fourth inning that made the score 7-0 at the time.

>After failing to live up to huge expectations for a few years, Walker appears to be emerging into a star slugger.

>The home run was Walker's 17th of the season. He’s also hitting .304 with a .929 OPS.

HighlightsFrancisco Alvarez's first homer back from the IL!

His 5th homer of the season! pic.twitter.com/QJtOrJGZU5

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 11, 2026What's nextThe Mets look to salvage a game in this series as they host the Cardinals on Thursday afternoon.

>Christian Scott (2-0, 2.50 ERA) will take the mound against Hunter Dobbins.