Game #136: Cardinals 5, Mets 1

There was a late run scored, but far less drama tonight at Busch Stadium.

Matt Harvey was flat in the 2nd inning, leading to 3 St. Louis runs and eventually resulting in the Cardinals' 5-1 triumph over the Mets.

The Bad Stuff:

• Matt Harvey had one bad inning: 4 straight singles in the 2nd inning led to 3 Redbird runs. Harvey's final line wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been, though: 5 innings, 6 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts.
• The Met offense couldn't hit in the clutch, going 0-7 with RISP and stranding 7 castaways on Gilligan's Island: Midwest Edition.
• Justin Hampson and Ramon Ramirez allowed a run each in the 6th and 7th, allowing the Cardinals to put some more space between them and the visitors.

The Good Stuff:

• Jeurys Familia finally made his New York Mets debut in the 8th inning, allowing a hit but striking out Lance Berkman and forcing a double play to complete a scoreless frame.
• Of the Mets' 11 hits, 2 of them each came from Ruben Tejada, David Wright, and Scott Hariston (none of them scored at all).

Final Analysis:
A brief summary for a brief and otherwise uneventful game. The Mets dropped their first series since the Colorado debacle in August, although at least this time it was to a contender. R.A. Dickey has a chance to play spoiler tomorrow and keep St. Louis from breaking out their brooms. Let's do it.

MM