St. Louis @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 13, 2019 ) St. Louis 5, NY Mets 4

The New York Mets were unsuccessful in their bid to hold off Mother Nature as well as the St. Louis Cardinals in the series opener, as they saw a two-run lead washed away as rain poured down on Citi Field. With the contest tied at 4, the Mets will begin the bottom of the ninth inning of the suspended game on Friday (6:10 p.m. ET) before playing the scheduled tilt shortly after its completion.

New York appeared poised to collect its sixth win in eight outings and even its mark at .500 for the first time since May 26 before Kolten Wong ripped an RBI single against embattled closer Edwin Diaz and scored on Bronxville native Harrison Bader's double. Bader, however, slipped on the slick basepath between second and third, resulting in the final out of the ninth inning before the game was sent into a rain delay. Both managers told reporters after the game that they understood the umpires' initial decision to attempt to play through the rain, even though the field conditions quickly deteriorated. Prior to the deluge, Michael Conforto launched a two-run shot for the Mets, who carry a team-record streak of 17 straight home games with a home run into Friday's contest.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, MLB Network, FS Midwest (St. Louis), SNY (New York)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Daniel Ponce de Leon (0-0, 1.80 ERA) vs. Mets LH Steven Matz (5-4, 3.88)

Ponce de Leon will discover himself in the rotation in place of the fellow right-hander Adam Wainwright, who has been placed on the injured list with a mild left hamstring strain. The 27-year-old Ponce de Leon fared well in his lone start with the Cardinals this season, allowing one run on two hits while striking out seven in five innings of a no-decision versus Milwaukee on April 23. Ponce de Leon has posted a 4-4 mark with a 3.90 ERA in 11 starts for Triple-A Memphis.

Matz fell one strikeout shy of his career high on Saturday after fanning 10 over six innings in a 5-3 win over Colorado. The 28-year-old saw his pitch count elevate to 120 for the first time since Aug. 9, 2016, and stranded seven runners, including four in scoring position. Paul DeJong (4-for-5) and Paul Goldschmidt (2-for-8) have each homered twice against Matz, who owns an 0-3 mark with a bloated 8.49 and 1.89 WHIP in three career starts versus St. Louis.

WALK-OFFS

1. Bader had three hits in the suspended game after going 1-for-10 with four strikeouts in his previous four.

2. New York rookie 1B Pete Alonso had a pair of hits in the suspended contest after mustering just three in his previous seven.

3. Goldschmidt is 0-for-4 in the suspended contest after entering the tilt with a five-game hitting streak.

PREDICTION: Mets 5, Cardinals 4