On the Mets beat

Good evening baseball fans. Marcus Henry is here to carry you through the first of four games between the Mets and the Cardinals. This is a huge matchup for a couple reasons. The Mets have one their top two hurlers in John Maine going tonight. Maine leads the team in wins and has been solid over his last two starts. The Cardinals will trot out Kyle Lohse. And to think the Mets could've had Lohse. But that's just me playing Monday morning QB. The next four games are also important because the Mets travel to Philadelphia on Friday to take on the NL East-leading Phillies for three games. The Mets have a real chance to make up some ground in the wild card and the division.

Mets (40-41) at St. Louis Cardinals (47-36), 7:05 p.m.

Starters: John Maine (8-5, 3.73) for the Mets and Kyle Lohse (9-2, 3.94) for the Cardinals.

Last starts: Maine has been solid his last two outings. Most recently the 6-4 righthander gave up two runs over six innings in an 8-2 win over Seattle. Lohse has won six of his last seven starts. But his last start was a bit shaky as he gave up four runs in five innings in a loss at Detroit. Lohse has been a huge surprise for the Cardinals, who have played part of their season with Albert Pujols and Adam Wainwright on the DL. On a side note; Pujols has 299 career home runs.

Good times, bad times: The good; Carlos Delgado had a great weekend against the Yanks belting three homers and driving in 10. The bad; The Mets went into last weekend's four-game set without having to face Mike Mussina or Joba Chamberlain. There was no one who believes the Mets shouldn't have won three of four games. More good; Ryan Church was activated Sunday and went 2-for-4 against the Yankees. More bad; Moises Alou will not make a rehab start today.

See you after the top of the first.

Top 1st:
Jose Reyes saw four pitches before flying out to center for the first out. Louis Castillo drew a one-out walk. David Wright struck out looking at an inside fastball for the second out. Beltran, after a fairly long at bat, grounded out to second.
Mets 0, Cardinals coming up.

Bottom 1st: Skip Schumaker led off the inning with a walk. Aaron Miles singled to right. Schumaker went from first to third. Pujols singled to right, Schumaker scored, Miles to second. Rick Ankiel walks on five pitches, loading the bases. Pujols to second, Miles to third. Pitching coach Troy Glaus grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. Miles scored, Pujols to third. Chris Duncan grounded out to Delgado.
Cardinals 2, Mets 0

Top 2nd: Carlos Delgado was hit by a pitch to lead off the second. Church grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. Endy Chavez singled to right for the Mets first hit. Schneider struck out looking, stranding Chavez.
Cardinals 2, Mets 0

Bottom 2nd: Yadier Molina singled to shallow right. It is the second inning in a row the leader hitter has gotten on for the Cardinals. Kyle Lohse (hitting eighth) is up. The game is being delayed a bit because home plate umpire Brian O'Nora was hit by a pitch. The pitch actually hit Lohse's bat while attempting a bunt. Strike three for Lohse for the first out. Brendan Ryan grounded out to third. Molina to second. Schumaker reaches on an error by second baseman Louis Castillo, scoring Molina. Schumaker advances to third on a throwing error by Maine attempting a pickoff. Giving away runs is exactly what the Mets don't need.
Miles flied out to centerfield.
Cardinals 3, Mets 0

Top 3rd: Maine struck out swinging. Ankiel made a fine running catch to put Reyes away for the second out. Cardinals shortstop Ryan made a fine running play to throw Castillo out. Three up and three down.
Cardinals 3, Mets 0

Bottom 3rd: Pujols flied out to center. Ankiel singled to right. Glaus doubled to left on a 2-2 pitch, scoring Ankiel. Duncan was intentionally walked. Molina fouled out to Schneider for the second out. Lohse flied to right for the third. But the Cardinals added a run.
Cardinals 4, Mets 0

Top 4th: Wright struck out swinging for the first out. Beltran singled to left past Glaus. Delgado flew out to shallow center. Church singled to left, Beltran made it to third safely. Chavez grounded out to second, stranding Church and Beltran. The Mets can't seem to get that big hit.
Cardinals 4, Mets 0

Bottom 4th: Ryan grounded out to second. Schumaker grounded out to shortstop for the second out. Miles reached second on a throwing error by Wright. Wright should've held on to it, especially with Pujols up. Pujols made the Mets pay for Wright's error with a RBI-single, scoring Miles. Ankiel lined out to first.
Cardinals 5, Mets 0

Top 5th: Schneider, swinging at the first pitch, grounded out to shortstop. Andy Phillips is pinch-hitting for Maine. Phillips singled to left. Reyes flied out to left for the second out. Castillo singled past a diving Miles. Phillips scored on a throwing error by Ankiel, who over shot Glaus. Wright, swinging at the first pitch, fouled out on a nice play by Miles. But the Mets finally got on the board, but not because of their clutch hitting.
Cardinals 5, Mets 1

Bottom 5th: Carlos Muniz is in for Maine. Maine went four innings, gave up five runs (3 earned) on seven hits. Glaus was hit by a pitch. Duncan belted a two-run homer to right just over the reach of Church. Molina flied to centerfield for the first out. Lohse lined out to shortstop. Ryan flew out to Chavez, who made a fine running over-the-shoulder catch for out number three. But the Cardinals tacked on two more runs.
Cardinals 7, Mets 1

Top 6th: Beltran drew a leadoff walk. Delgado bounced into a 5-4-3 double play. Another opportunity wasted. Church flied out to left for the third out.
Cardinals 7, Mets 1

Bottom 6th: Carlos Muniz starts his second inning for the Mets. Schumaker grounded out to second. Miles flied out to center. Pujols flied out to center for the third out and are held scoreless for the first time tonight.
Cardinals 7, Mets 1

Top 7th: Lohse is still on the hill facing Chavez in the top of the seventh. Chavez grounded out to second. Schneider grounded out to first. Marlon Anderson (pinch hitting) grounded out to second. Three up and three down.
Cardinals 7, Mets 1

Bottom 7th: Scott Schoeneweis is in for Muniz and got Ankiel to ground out to second for the first out. Glaus double to right. Duncan struck out swinging. Molina was intentionally walked. Lohse (7 IP, 5H, 1R, 0ER, 2BB, 4K) is done for the night. Brian Barton is pinch hitting. Barton walked, loading the bases. Ryan flied to centerfield for the third out.
Cardinals 7, Mets 1

Top 8th: Former Yankee Ron Villone is in for the Cardinals in the top of the eighth to face Reyes. Reyes struck out looking. Castillo reached on a fielding error by the shortstop Brendan Ryan. Wright walked. Beltran struck out looking, with two on. Delgado grounded out to shortstop, stranding two runners.

Bottom 8th: Aaron Heilman is on in the eighth and got Schumaker to ground out to first on the first pitch. The Mets lead the National league in pitching changes, according to ESPN. Miles singled to second Pujols lined out to left for the second out. Ankiel walked. Cardinals lefty Mark Mulder is warming up for what appears to be his first Major League relief appearance. Glaus was hit by a pitch, loading the bases. Duncan struck out looking.

Top 9th: Mulder (his first relief appearance in MLB) is on in the ninth. Fernando Tatis (pinch hitting) grounded out to short. Chavez singles left. Ramon Castro (pinch hitting) struck out swinging. Damion Easley singled to right. Reyes flied to right to end the game.
Final score: Cardinals 7, Mets 1. The Cardinals improve to 48-36 and the Mets fall to 40-42. Kyle Lohse improves to 10-2 and John Maine falls to 8-6.