5 things to watch as Mets face Cardinals in three-game set at Citi Field

The Mets continue their homestand as they face the St. Louis Cardinals in a three-game set starting on Friday night at Citi Field. These have been two of the more disappointing and underperforming teams in baseball to this point in the season.

New York is coming off huge walk-off win to secure a Subway Series split with the Yankees, after dropping their last three series. Following a sweep of the Phillies, they’ve lost eight of their last 10 games, and currently sit four games under the .500 mark.

The Mets have been bad, but the Cardinals have been even worse. After winning the division last season, and entering this year as favorites in the NL Central, they currently sit in last place in the division.

St. Louis was just swept at home by the Giants, including an 8-5 extra-inning defeat on Wednesday, in which they were leading in the top off the ninth with two outs. 

They’ve dropped six in a row at home and are a season-low 16 games under the .500 mark. Looking even further, the Cardinals have lost 12 of their last 16 games, with seven of those coming by one run.

This should make for an interesting matchup with two teams struggling going head-to-head, here are five things to watch in this series…

1. Will the Mets carry the momentum over?

After such a brutal stretch of baseball, the Mets picked up a much needed thrilling win on Wednesday against the Yankees, securing the split in the home half of the Subway Series.

They saw vintage Justin Verlander, as he allowed just one run over six strong innings, and then the bullpen was solid behind him.

Pitching for the second night in a row, Dominic Leone came up with a clutch outing, stranding the ghost runner at second to hold the Yanks off the board in the top of the tenth.

Then in the bottom half of the inning, Brandon Nimmo made up for his base running mistake a few innings earlier, as he brought in the winning run with a double to deep right field.  

Perhaps a win like this in such a big game will help the Mets turn things back around. They'll look to carry that momentum into this weekend series with the struggling Cardinals.

2. Defense, defense, defense

There’s no denying amid their recent struggles, the Mets have been one of the worst defensive teams in baseball.

Last weekend, they committed five errors over the first two games of the series loss to the Pirates. They were routed on Friday and then won, despite making three errors, on Saturday.

The Mets were again hurt by their defense in the two games against the Yankees.

On Tuesday, Nimmo whiffed on a fly ball to shallow center, which was recorded as a double, and led to the go-ahead run scoring just a batter later in the 7-6 loss.

Then on Wednesday, Mark Vientos couldn’t scoop a Jeff McNeil feed out of the dirt, allowing a run to score and Isiah Kiner-Falefa to reach on a fielders choice.

IKF then stole second and advanced to third on a Francisco Alvarez throwing error. Just a pitch later, he caught the Mets sleeping and pulled off a straight steal of home.

The Mets’ pitching staff has not been good this season, there's no denying that as well, but their defense hasn’t been doing them any favors. 

Buck Showalter’s squad was so defensively sound last season and this year they just haven't been good at all. It hasn’t just been one or two guys either, it’s been the team as a whole.

There’s no explanation or excuse for it, but if this team hopes to keep this momentum going and turn things around, it needs to change.

With the struggles of the pitching staff they can’t afford to keep making physical or mental mistakes and giving away runs, especially against a struggling team like the Cardinals. 

3. Can Canha keep rolling?

With Alonso on the IL for the next few weeks due to a bone bruise and left wrist sprain, Mark Canha has been receiving more playing time at first base. 

He’s started four of the last five games and has reached base in each one he’s appeared in. 

While it’s hard to fill Alonso’s production in the middle of that lineup, Canha has stepped up nicely. He’s recorded three extra-base hits and driven in four runs during his four-game hitting streak. 

Looking even further, this continues a stretch of good play from Canha.

Over his last 15 games, the veteran is hitting .302 with a .434 OBP, .946 OPS, two homers, two doubles, 10 RBI, and a pair of stolen bases. After struggling a bit in April, Canha has found his footing so far in May and early June.

Through 58 games, he’s now hitting .247 with a .333 OBP, 13 doubles, five homers, 22 RBI, and a .734 OPS. He’s also drawn 20 walks while swiping four bases, which is already one more than last season.

Canha will look to keep it going against the struggling Cardinals pitching staff.

4. Man down in the pen

Right-hander Drew Smith was ejected from Tuesday’s game against the Yankees after an extensive sticky substance search.

Before the start of the seventh, Smith was entering from the bullpen when he was checked by the umpiring crew before throwing a pitch. After a few seconds, the other umpires were called in to check the right-hander’s hands, and once they all gathered crew chief Bill Miller ejected Smith.

Smith pleaded his case, even having some of his Mets teammates check his hand, before finally leaving the field. Once in the dugout, the reliever had even more teammates feel his hand.

While Smith and the Mets are frustrated about the flawed system, there’s nothing they can do. The righty is forced to serve a 10 game suspension, which began on Wednesday night. 

The Mets can not replace him on the roster and will be playing shorthanded during that time. That came into play in Wednesday's game against the Yankees, but Leone stepped up when needed.

They got bailed out that time, but it'll be interesting to see how Showalter and the Mets manage their shorthanded bullpen during this three game set.

5. Watch out for St. Louis’ young slugger

The Cardinals offense still goes through their All-Stars at the corner infield spots; Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt.

Arenado has been hot of late, hitting a sizzling .382 with four homers and a 1.160 OPS over his last 15 games. Goldy has seen his power numbers decline a bit, homering just once so far this month, but he’s been consistent elsewhere.

But perhaps the biggest bright spot of late for the Cardinals has been the play of top prospect Jordan Walker.

The young slugger has recorded a hit in all but two games since being called back up to the big league level. He’s currently riding an eight-game hitting streak and has driven in a run in five of his last eight games.

Looking even further, Walker is hitting .340 with a .417 OBP, .926 OPS, two homers, and nine RBI over his last 15 games.

The 21-year-old was elevated to the fifth spot in the order on Wednesday and he immediately made the decision pay off. He reached base twice, including an RBI single to increase the Cardinals lead early on.

Walker looks much more comfortable at the plate and has been taking better at-bats.

Through 116 MLB at-bats, he’s now hitting .293 with four homers, five doubles, 17 RBI, two stolen bases, and a .789 OPS. 

He’s picked up right where he left off down in Triple-A and has been a great piece in that St. Louis lineup. The red hot Walker is definitely a guy to keep an eye on this weekend.