Canning Shines, Vientos Homers as Mets Top Cardinals 4–1

Griffin Canning delivered six strong innings and Mark Vientos launched his first home run of the season as the Mets beat the Cardinals 4–1 on Thursday night at Citi Field.

Canning, making his first start after a brief illness delay, allowed just one run on three hits and two walks, striking out eight over 102 pitches. After giving up an early run in the third, he finished by retiring the final nine batters he faced.

Vientos broke a 62-at-bat homerless streak with a solo shot off the right-field foul pole in the second inning, sparking a four-run rally. Starling Marte followed with a double, Brett Baty added an RBI single, and Francisco Lindor capped the inning with a clutch two-run single—thanks to a defensive blunder by the Cardinals that let Tyrone Taylor score on a rundown.

Offensively, Lindor had three hits, and Baty went 2-for-3 with a key seventh-inning double, giving him consecutive multi-hit games. Pete Alonso went 0-for-4, and Brandon Nimmo’s average dipped to .194 after an 0-for-3 showing.

In relief, Reed Garrett worked through a tough 29-pitch seventh, AJ Minter tossed a perfect eighth, and Edwin Díaz worked around a leadoff walk to secure his fourth save of the year.

With the win, the Mets improved to 12–7 overall and 6–1 at home. The Cardinals dropped to 9–10 and just 1–6 on the road.

Up Next:
The Mets and Cardinals continue their series Friday at 7:10 p.m. at Citi Field. David Peterson (2.70 ERA) will start for New York against St. Louis right-hander Miles Mikolas (9.00 ERA).