NEW YORK -- It was an exciting game between the Cardinals and Mets on Friday night at Citi Field. It was like a boxing match.
St. Louis threw the first couple of punches by scoring the first two runs of the game, but then New York fought back. When it was over, it was the Mets who threw the knockout punch in the bottom of the ninth inning as they edged the Cardinals, 5-4.
New York shortstop Francisco Lindor swung at a 1-1 cutter from right-hander Ryan Fernandez and hit the ball into the second deck in right field to end the game. It was Lindor¡¯s first walk-off homer as a member of the Mets.
¡°There were a couple of punches back and forth,¡± Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan said. ¡°We scratched a couple of runs [across] early and then they had a two-run inning, and then we punched back, and then, in the ninth inning, we punched them and they punched us right back.
¡°We have to keep fighting. ... You like to see some fight out of the club and that¡¯s what you are looking for. You want to win and stack ... wins together, but you want to see how you respond to situations like that early in the year.¡±
Donovan has been St. Louis¡¯ biggest puncher this season. It was his solo homer in the top of the ninth inning off Mets right-hander Huascar Brazob¨¢n that tied the score at 4. It was Donovan¡¯s second hit of the game. He also scored three of the four runs for St. Louis.
Donovan has always been a productive hitter since he made his Major League debut in 2022. He was a career .280 hitter entering the 2025 season. But this year is different. Donovan is raking. He is currently on a 14-game hitting streak, a career high and the longest such streak in the Majors this season. He is also leading the Major Leagues with 30 hits, ranks No. 1 in the National League in batting average (.380) and has a team-leading 13 RBIs.
¡°It¡¯s so early and I try not to jump to conclusions,¡± Donovan said. ¡°If I had to look at the last couple of weeks, I think I would look at it from a maturity aspect. I know maturity comes with leaning on leadership experience. Maturity comes with preparation. Maturity comes with taking a couple of more chances in the box because you have a couple of years of experience to lean on. I think all of those factors come into play.
¡°From the mechanical side of things, I understand my body a little bit more each year -- how things are supposed to move. What my misses are supposed to look like. How can I quickly fix those mistakes a little faster? I think all those things come into play.¡±
The Cardinals are hoping that right-hander Miles Mikolas can fix his mistakes. Entering Friday¡¯s start, he had a 9.00 ERA. At 36, he is the oldest player on the Cardinals¡¯ active roster. But Mikolas found the fountain of youth against the Mets -- at least for four innings without allowing a run. He was also given a 2-0 lead entering the fifth, however, he lost the lead, left the game in that frame and ended up with a no-decision.
¡°I felt good today. I threw a lot of strikes. There was a little trouble in the fourth, but nothing I couldn¡¯t work out of,¡± Mikolas said.