Mets Rally For Six Ninth Inning Runs, Dash Cardinals Playoff Hopes With 8-6 Win

St. Louis, MO (Sports Network) - Willie Harris capped a big ninth-inning rally with a two-run single, as the New York Mets beat the Cardinals, 8-6, hampering St. Louis' chances of reaching the postseason.

The Cardinals, who allowed six runs in the ninth inning, fell two games back of the wild card-leading Braves and five behind NL Central-leading Milwaukee with six games to go. Atlanta and Milwaukee were idle Thursday.

St. Louis has three games at home this weekend against the Cubs before finishing the season with three in Houston.

Mets At Cardinals: Chris Capuano Looks To Put A Dent In Cards' Playoff Hopes

(Sports Network) – Within minutes, the momentum in the National League Wild Card race seemed to shift towards the Cardinals. St. Louis gets a chance to keep the tide in their favor this afternoon with the finale of a three-game series with the New York Mets.

Moments after the wild card-leading Braves lost to the Marlins, David Freese hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning that sparked the Cardinals to a 6-5 victory. The win pulled St. Louis to within 1 1/2 games of Atlanta and 4 1/2 back of NL Central-leading Milwaukee with seven contests to play, and the Cards can pick up a half-game in both races today with the Braves and Brewers both idle.

Freese also hit a two-run triple in the game and his game-changing blast over the right-field wall went just above a sign the prophetically read, “Now that’s positive energy.”

“It’s the biggest hit of my career,” Freese said. “Getting that win is huge.”

Jaime Garcia was awarded his 13th win of the season after giving up four unearned runs over 7 2/3 innings as the Cardinals won for the fourth straight time. They have also won 12 of their last 14 and can pick up their first sweep of the Mets this afternoon since a three-game set at home on April 21-23, 2009.

Jake Westbrook was on the mound in the Cardinals last loss and he’ll look to get on track today after lasting just 3 1/3 innings and 71 pitches in a setback to the Phillies on Saturday. The right-hander was charged with a pair of runs — one earned —on five hits and five walks.

Westbrook fell to 12-9 with a 4.58 earned run average on the season and has split two career starts versus the Mets. That includes a win on July 21 for the 34-year-old after he gave up two runs over eight innings.

New York lost for the ninth time in 11 games and failed to hold a 4-3 lead down the stretch. Reliever Pedro Beato fell behind the count to Freese before giving up the longball.

“I was trying not to walk him in that situation, and I left a pitch out over the middle of the plate and he took a good swing at it,” Beato said.

Already without Jason Bay for a second straight game due to illness, fellow outfielder Lucas Duda left Wednesday’s game due to dizziness two innings after running into the wall in right trying to make a catch. He will undergo further tests today, but it is believed he did not suffer a concussion. Still, Mets manager Terry Collins doesn’t expect to play him today.

That will leave New York one more bat short in an attempt to get Chris Capuano his 12th victory of the season, which would be the second-highest total of his career behind only an 18-win season in 2005. He went 11-12 the following season with the Brewers and holds the same record through 31 games this year along with a 4.47 ERA after a victory over the Braves on Friday.

The 32-year-old southpaw won for just the second time in nine starts after limiting Atlanta to a pair of runs on six hits and two walks over five innings.

Capuano is 5-5 with a 5.18 ERA in his career against the Cardinals.

Mets-Cardinals Score: New York Can't Overcome David Freese's Three-Run, Seventh-Inning Home Run

St. Louis, MO (Sports Network) – The Cardinals’ playoff chances were helped by a Braves loss, then got even better when David Freese’s three-run homer in the seventh inning gave St. Louis a 6-5 victory over the New York Mets.

Atlanta’s setback to the Marlins and Freese’s go-ahead blast came within minutes of each other, and inched the Cardinals within 1 1/2 games of the NL wild card front-runners. St. Louis can make up the half-game in the finale of this three-game series on Thursday.

“It’s the biggest hit of my career,” Freese said. “Getting that win is huge.”

Freese had a two-run triple prior to his heroics in the seventh, which made a winner of Jaime Garcia (13-7), who gave up four unearned runs on six hits in 7 2/3 innings of work.

New York’s Chris Schwinden, on the eve of his 25th birthday, was in line for his first big league win after tossing six quality innings.

But the Mets couldn’t hold a 4-3 lead down the stretch to lose for the ninth time in 11 games.

Miguel Batista relieved Schwinden and retired the first two hitters before Albert Pujols kept the seventh alive with a single. Daniel Herrera (0-1) came in for one batter and gave up a single to Lance Berkman before Freese stepped up against Pedro Beato.

Beato, down 3-1 in the count, threw a 90-m.p.h. fastball right down the middle, and Freese took it the other way and over the right field wall, just above a sign the prophetically read, “Now that’s positive energy.”

“I was trying not to walk him in that situation, and I left a pitch out over the middle of the plate and he took a good swing at it,” Beato said.

A suddenly resurgent Busch Stadium crowd was briefly quieted when Jason Motte surrendered a two-out, solo homer to Willie Harris in the ninth, but the reliever struck out pinch-hitter Josh Thole to secure his eighth save and St. Louis’ seventh win in eight games.

Freese drove in a pair with a triple into the right-field corner in the first inning, and Allen Craig knocked in another run an inning later.

Pujols and Berkman each came up empty with the bases loaded later in the second, and the Mets pushed four across in the third, two coming in when Rafael Furcal booted a routine ground ball up the middle.

Josh Satin added a pinch-hit, two-run double later in the frame, and it stayed 4-3 until the deciding seventh.

Mets At Cardinals: Chris Schwinden Looks For First Major League Win

(Sports Network) – Third-year lefty Jaime Garcia becomes the latest St. Louis pitcher with a chance to keep the club in the playoff hunt when the Cardinals host the New York Mets in the middle contest of a three-game series at Busch Stadium.

Ryan Theriot and Adron Chambers came up big in pinch-hit situations in the seventh on Tuesday, as the streaking Cardinals scored six two-out runs in the frame to upend the Mets, 11-6.

Theriot doubled in a pair and Chambers hit a bases-loaded triple for St. Louis, which has won six of seven to stay in the NL wild card hunt. The front- running Atlanta Braves also won on Tuesday, keeping St. Louis 2 1/2 games behind.

Albert Pujols went 4-for-5 with two runs scored and another driven in, while Lance Berkman added two hits and two RBI to offset Edwin Jackson’s rough start.

Angel Pagan had three hits and an RBI to lead New York, which did St. Louis a favor over the weekend by taking two of three in Atlanta.

Garcia, a 25-year-old, debuted with the Cardinals in 2009 and made one start in 10 appearances, then became a full-time starter a year later while posting a 13-8 record in 28 outings.

He’s 12-7 in 30 starts so far in 2011, with wins No. 11 and 12 coming against Cincinnati and Atlanta, respectively, on Sept. 3 and 10.

He got a no-decision in the Cardinals’ 4-2 defeat of Philadelphia in his most recent assignment on Sept. 16 and St. Louis is 6-4 in his last 10.

Garcia has no decisions in two career starts against New York.

For the Mets, rookie Chris Schwinden makes the third start of his career.

He is winless in his first two, having lost to Atlanta and Washington while allowing 12 hits and six earned runs in 10 innings.

The 6-foot-3, 165-pounder, who’ll turn 25 on Thursday, has walked three batters and struck out seven.

He spent the early part of the 2011 season in Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Buffalo, going 8-8 in 28 appearances with a 3.87 earned run average in 148 2/3 innings.

These two clubs have split four meetings so far this year.

Mets-Cardinals Score: Seventh-Inning Bullpen Implosion Costs Mets In 11-6 Loss

St. Louis, MO (Sports Network) - Ryan Theriot and Adron Chambers came up big in pinch-hit situations in the seventh, as the playoff-seeking Cardinals scored six two-out runs in the frame to upend the Mets, 11-6.

Theriot doubled in a pair and Chambers hit a bases-loaded triple for St. Louis, which has won six of seven to stay in the NL wild card hunt. The front- running Braves also won on Tuesday, keeping St. Louis 2 1/2 games behind.

"I'm just happy I was able to come up here and help out," said Chambers. "I bet any of these guys in here would love to be in that situation, to get the big hit and get the win."

Mets At Cardinals: New York Hopes To End Cardinals' Playoff Hopes