NEW YORK — On his first Father’s Day as a father, Nolan Arenado put the Cardinals on his shoulders and so they could see something they haven’t in weeks.
The Cardinals’ third baseman, who has a thing for dramatic performances on Father’s Day, hammered his second home run of the afternoon to shatter a tie game in the top of the ninth inning. Arenado’s one-out, solo lightning strike gave the Cardinals the 8-7 lead against the Mets that Jordan Hicks would turn into a win Sunday with his second save in as many days at Citi Field.
Hicks got a routine double play to end the game.
With wins Saturday and Sunday, both finished by Hicks, the Cardinals won a series for the first time since the middle of May.
Arenado’s home run was the fourth of the game for the Cardinals.
They took a lead, lost a bit of, widened the lead, lost that insurance, and eventually the Mets tied the game in the fifth inning. To put the game at a point that Arenado could win it, the Cardinals first had to bridge the late innings. Drew VerHagen did most of that with 1 2/3 scoreless innings. That paired with Andre Pallante’s 1 1/3 scoreless innings to get the game to Hicks in the ninth. He had a lead thanks to Arenado.
Back in Colorado, Arenado had his first career cycle on Father’s Day, and he punctuated that game with a walk-off hit. His celebratory scream is an image burned into Rockies’ lore.
He had a similar shout Sunday as he rounded first.
But before he had the homer he had a catch. Arenado ended the eighth inning with a casual basket catch near a railing in foul territory. Two batters later, in the top of the ninth, he had his 23rd multi-homer game, hoisting the Cardinals to something else they have not had in a while.
Consecutive wins.
Pham erases former club’s lead
One of the Mets who helped shoulder the offense during Pete Alonso’s absence, former Cardinal Tommy Pham was eager to face his first team, had strong numbers against his team, and got off to a strong start to the weekend. He had two two-out RBI singles Friday, and he had a few other loud outs that hinted at what was possible.
He sure had a knack for timing.
After the second of Alonso’s three strikeouts threatened to capsize a Mets’ rally and give the Cardinals an escape, Pham pounced. He drilled a 1-2 pitch from reliever Chris Stratton over the right-field wall for a two-run homer. Pham’s seventh homer of the season tied the game, 7-7. He had entered that at-bat with an OPS greater than 1.000 for the previous two weeks and an average greater than .400 for the past three games.
The homer was his fourth against the Cardinals.
Both ball clubs were bopping
Through the first five innings, the Cardinals and Mets combined for 14 runs and half of them came on home runs by five different players. That helped explain how the teams could get ot the eighth inning with more runs than hits (12).
Arenado opened the scoring with a two-run homer. He drilled a curve from Mets starter Carlos Carrasco into the left-center seats for his14th home run of the season. Arenado’s two-run bolt came after Brendan Donovan’s leadoff double, and it vaulted the Cardinals to something they had not had in either previous game at Citi Field.
The first lead.
DeJong delivers in Queens
The Mets answered in the first inning with a solo home run to cut the lead in half, but the Cardinals kept building. An error opened the way for Paul Goldschmidt’s two-run double in the Cardinals’ three-run second inning, and then it was back to bopping in the third inning. Paul DeJong hit his 10th home run of the season with two outs in the third inning against Carasco. That homer gave the Cardinals a 6-3 lead and put DeJong ahead of some notable company in Cardinals’ history.
DeJong’s 112th career home run put him ahead of Hall of Famer Scott Rolen as a Cardinal. DeJong now ranks 21st all-time.
Of his first 38 hits against the Mets, 22 have been for extra bases.
He has seven homers at Citi Field.
The Mets tightened the score in the fourth inning on Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore. He goosed the Mets’ opportunity by hitting a batter and walking the No. 8 hitter – all with two outs. The No. 9 hitter, Mark Canha, stung an RBI single. The Cardinals answered with another home run, and this one did more than extend the lead.
Walker extends lead, hitting streak (encore)
For the second time in as many days in New York, rookie Jordan Walker added to his hitting streak while adding to the Cardinals’ lead.
With his father in the crowd all weekend at Citi Field and watching Sunday, Walker pummeled a solo homer over the right-field wall in the fifth inning. Right fielder Starling Marte attempted to make a play on the liner at the wall, only to have the ball zip over his reach and pinball into the field-level seats the Mets have behind a screen. Walker’s sixth homer increased his hitting streak to 11 games.
He’s one shy of tying his career best.
Sunday was his 35th big-league game.
