The St. Louis Cardinals controlled this game from start to finish, clobbering the Mets 7-0 on Monday night.
Here are the takeaways from the game:
1. Leadoff doubles in the second by Yadier Molina and third inning by Tommy Edman eventually led to both coming in to score on the next at-bats to put the Mets in a 2-0 hole early.
2. Paul Goldschmidt, who hit the RBI single to bring Edman in for the second score of the game, added to his total on the night in the fifth with a solo home run to left center to make it a 3-0 game.
3. Rich Hill's night was over after 5.0 innings. The lefty allowed three earned runs on six hits and two walks while striking out four.
4. As rain poured down at Citi Field, a quiet game from the Mets offense got a bit louder in the bottom of the eighth, after a Francisco Lindor leadoff walk was followed up by a Michael Conforto single that put runners on the corners with nobody out and Pete Alonso coming up as the tying run.
But Alonso, Javier Baez, and Jeff McNeil dropped the ball with back-to-back-to-back strikeouts to strand the runners and effectively end the Mets' chances of coming back in this one.
5. The Cards tacked on four insurance runs in the ninth to put away the Mets. In a fitting end, the last three Mets at-bats were strikeouts.
This was the Mets' first shutout since August 24 against the San Francisco Giants. It was their 12th shutout of the season.
Meanwhile, every St. Louis starter -- including pitcher Adam Wainwright -- connected for at least one hit. Four Mets position player starters went hitless in the contest.