On the Mets beat

Marcus Henry's here again to guide you through the final installment of Mets vs. Cardinals. The Mets really need a win here before they trek to Philadelphia for a four-game set.

Mets (41-43) at St. Louis Cardinals (49-37), 8:15 p.m.

Starters: Mike Pelfrey (5-6, 4.47) for the Mets and Mitchell Boggs (3-0, 4.37) for the Cardinals.

Last starts: Pelfrey wasn't great in his last start against the Yankees last week. But he didn't need to be. Pelfrey gave up eight hits and four runs in five innings in the Mets 15-6 win over the Yankees last Friday. It's worth noting that Pelfrey has won his last three starts, including 5.2 innings of three-hit, scoreless baseball in a win over Colorado on June 22. It's also worth noting that Pelfrey has shaved half a run off his ERA since May 10th. Boggs has been a pleasant surprise for the Cardinals. The 24-year-old righty give up just one run in six innings in a win over the Royals on June 28. In a win over Boston on June 21 he gave up three runs in 5 1/3 innings.

Good times, bad times: One good thing going for the Mets is that they can salvage a split with a win tonight. That notwithstanding, losing the way they did last night couldn't have left a good feeling in their mouths. The Mets fought back and actually led 7-5, only to have the pen blow the lead, blowing a chance at leaving St. Louis with a .500 record. The Mets also blew a chance to cut the gap between themselves and the Cardinals in the wild card race.

The game's first pitch, scheduled for 8:15, will be delayed due to heavy rains earlier in the day. The St. Louis ground crew put the tarp back on. Stay tuned for more updates. First pitch is scheduled for 8:40.

A couple of quick notes: Louis Castillo was placed on the 15-day DL with a strained hip flexor and Carlos Muniz was demoted. The Mets purchased the contract of second baseman Argenis Reyes and called up outfielder Chris Aguila from Triple-A New Orleans.

Top 1st: Jose Reyes chops the second pitch to the pitcher for the first out. Endy Chavez reached on an infield single. David Wright walked on five pitches. Chavez moved to second. Ryan Church walked to load the bases. Carlos Delgado scored Chavez with a sacrifice fly to right. Wright moved to third. Mets lead 1-0. Church moved to second on a wild pitch. Damion Easley scored Wright on a broken-bat line drive that bounced off the pitcher's glove. Mets lead 2-0. Church moved to third. Marlon Anderson reached on an error by the pitcher. Church scored. Mets lead 3-0. Easley moved to second. Ramon Castro flied out to center for the third out.
Mets 3, Cardinals 0

Bottom 1st: Aaron Miles grounded out to shortstop for the first out. Chris Duncan singled up the middle. Albert Pujols struck out for out number two. Rick Ankiel walked. Duncan moved to second. Troy Glaus flied to center for the final out.
Mets 3, Cardinals 0

Top 2: Mike Pelfrey grounded out to the pitcher for the first out. Reyes grounded out to second for the second out. Chavez grounded out to shortstop to end the inning.
Mets 3, Cardinals 0

Bottom 2: Ryan Ludwick lined out to third for the first out. Yadier Molina singled up the middle. Molina was thrown out by Ramon Castro attempting to steal for the second out. Mitchell Boggs struck out for the third out.
Mets 3, Cardinals 0

Top 3: Wright flied out to centerfield. Church legged out a double to left centerfield. Delgado walked. Easley reached on an infield single to load the bases. Anderson reached on a fielder's choice to second. Easley was forced out at second, 4-6, and Church scored. The Mets lead 4-0. Castro walked, loading the bases. Pelfrey lined a single to right, scoring Delgado. Mets lead 5-0. Reyes tripled to center, scoring Anderson, Castro and Pelfrey. It was Reyes' 62 triple of his career, tying Mookie Wilson's club record. The Mets lead 8-0. Chavez doubled to right centerfield, scoring Reyes. The Mets lead 9-0. Wright grounded out to shortstop. Six runs in.
Mets 9, Cardinals 0

Bottom 3: Adam Kennedy flied out to left on the first pitch for the first out. Aaron Miles singled up the middle, extending his hit streak to 15 games. Duncan grounded into a 1-6-3 double play.
Mets 9, Cardinals 0

Top 4: Church struck out for the first out. Delgado grounded out to second. Easley grounded out to second for the third out.
Mets 9, Cardinals 0

Bottom 4: Pujols flied out to centerfield. Ankiel popped out to second. Glaus struck out looking for the third out.
Mets 9, Cardinals 0

Top 5: Anderson singled up the middle to lead off the inning. Castro struck out swining for the first out. Pelfrey sacrificed Anderson to second. Pelfrey is out 2-3. Anderson advanced to third on a wild pitch. Reyes walked. Chavez bounced into a fielder's choice. Reyes was forced at second, 4-6, for the third out.
Mets 9, Cardinals 0

Bottom 5: Ludwick singled to shallow left. Molina grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. Boggs grounded out to the pitcher for the third out.
Mets 9, Cardinals 0

Top 6: Wright walked. Church lined out to first. Delgado belted a two-run homer to right. The Mets lead 11-0. Easley grounded out to third for the second out. Anderson lined a single to centerfield. Castro grounded out to third.
Mets 11, Cardinals 0

Bottom 6: Wright is out of the game. Fernando Tatis is in at third. Wright may have tweaked his back in the top of the sixth on Church's line out to first. Kennedy doubled to left. Miles grounded out to the pitcher. Kennedy moved to third. Duncan grounded out to first, scoring Kennedy. Mets 11, Cardinals 1. Pujols walked. Ankiel struck out swinging for the third out.
Mets 11, Cardinals 1

Top 7: Lefthander Ron Villone is in for boggs. Pelfrey struck out looking for the first out. Reyes grounded out to shortstop. Chavez grounded out to shortstop for the third out.
Mets 11, Cardinals 1

Bottom 7: Argenis Reyes is in at second for Easley. Glaus filed out to deep center. Ludwick struck out swinging for the second out. Molina doubled to right centerfield. Brian Barton is pinch hitting. Barton struck out swinging.
Mets 11, Cardinals 1

Top 8: Brendan Ryan is in at shortstop and Jason LaRue is catching for the Cardinals. Tatis flied out to right. Church struck out. Chris Aguila is batting for Delgado. Aguila struck out swinging.
Mets 11, Cardinals 1

Bottom 8: Scott Schoeneweis is in for Pelfrey. Kennedy singled off the foot of Schoeneweis. Miles walked. Duncan struck out. Braden Looper is pinch hitting. Looper struck out for the second out. Ankiel legged out an infield single to third. Kennedy moved to third. Ryan grounded out to third.
Mets 11, Cardinals 1

Top 9: Jason Isringhausen is pitching for the Cardinals. Argenis Reyes bounced out to Isringhausen. Anderson flied to right. Castro grounded out to short.
Mets,11, Cardinals 1

Bottom 9 Joe Smith is in for Schoeneweis. Ludwick reached on an infield single to third. LaRue struck out. Barton grounded into a 4-6-3 double play.
Final Score: Mets 11, Cardinals 1

The Mets leave St. Louis with a split and are headed to Philadelphia for a crucial four-game set, which starts Friday. Pelfrey (6-6) picked up his fourth straight win. Mitchell Boggs (3-1) took the loss.
Pelfrey's line: 7IP, 6H, 1R, 2BB, 6K.
Boggs' line: 6 IP, 10H, 11R (10ER), 6BB, 2K

Good night Mets fans.

Before we get started the tarp is on the field right now (5:17 p.m. Central) and we could be pestered by a number of passing thunderstorms tonight.Yippee.

-- Luis Castillo was placed on the disabled list this afternoon and returned to NYC for an MRI. He's officially on the shelf with a strained left hip flexor, but manager Jerry Manuel joked that they could get a good look at his whole body while he's in the MRI tube. With Carlos Muniz also demoted, the Mets called up outfielder Chris Aguila and infielder Argenis Reyes to fill the roster spots.

-- The Mets have backed off on Moises Alou, who now is not even expected to play in a rehab game until at least Monday. Alou visited with the team's medical staff Thursday in NYC and the suggestion was to let him take it slow over the weekend before reporting somewhere for a minor-league tuneup. Bottom line: looks like no Alou for Philly.

Reyes (ss)
Chavez (cf)
Wright (3b)
Church (rf)
Delgado (1b)
Easley (2b)
Anderson (lf)
Castro (c)
Pelfrey (rhp)

Haven't seen the new Get Smart movie yet, but I'm a big fan of the Don Adams classic, so excuse the reference for Endy Chavez's almost-catch of Troy Glaus' game-winning home run last night. How close was it? Chavez thought he had a great read on the ball, but knew he missed it when the ball made a deafening thud off the Geico billboard behind his glove.

Nothing against Carlos Muniz, but when he entered for the ninth, it seemed like just a matter of time. Someone was going to hit the walkoff -- Pujols, Ankiel or Glaus -- and that's exactly what happened. Pujols, stuck on HR No. 299, took a huge hack but popped up foul to David Wright. Ankiel, who already had homered off Pedro Martinez, pushed Carlos Beltran up against the centerfield wall with a 400-foot fly ball. And then, of course, it was Glaus' turn. It was like a round of Home Run Derby.

Well, Muniz got a ticket back to Triple-A New Orleans following the game and the Mets will call up an outfielder for tonight's game. It looks like Oliver Perez will be available out of the bullpen if needed.

In other news, Pedro Martinez says he isn't ready to quit yet. I'm sure the Mets are relieved. And Castillo -- brace yourselves -- is still hurting. Moises Alou is now pencilled in for Monday in Philly, as long as he survives any drama in Binghamton.

BY DAVID LENNON

ST. LOUIS – As the raindrops fell, and lightning flashed above Busch Stadium, the Mets hustled for the dugout last night in the third inning. Only Pedro Martinez never stepped off the rubber. He stared up at the sky, the baseball still in his glove, and refused to leave the mound.

“I looked up and thought, this must be a blessing, because it was 98 right before the game, sunny,” Martinez said. “And then all of a sudden, I get to the mound, it’s cloudy, it’s humid and the rain stopped the game. It must be a blessing. There’s something going on with me. There’s some adversity that I have to go through. I’m paying for something or I’m being tested.”

Martinez, who put the Mets in a 4-0 hole in the first inning, returned after the 47-minute rain delay with a vengeance, and retired seven of eight before Rick Ankiel crushed a tie-breaking home run in the fifth inning. That spoiled Martinez’s shot at redemption, and the Mets’ valiant comeback later was foiled as well.

With Duaner Sanchez still nursing a bruised left leg, Pedro Feliciano served up the tying two-run homer to pinch-hitter Chris Duncan in the seventh inning. And in the ninth, Troy Glaus’ second homer of the game was a walkoff shot against Carlos Muniz with two outs as the Mets fell to the Cardinals, 8-7. Glaus also drilled a three-run shot off Martinez in the first inning.

The Mets slipped to 41-43 and 4 ½ games in back of the Phillies. But when asked if this brutal loss might come back to haunt them in September, manager Jerry Manuel was unfazed.

“Nah, we’ll probably be five games up by then,” Manuel said, laughing. “We’ll be fine by then. If we keep competing like this on a nightly basis, we’ll be good.”

Muniz got Albert Pujols to pop up foul on his first pitch of the ninth and survived another scary moment when Rick Ankiel took him to the warning track – Carlos Beltran caught it with his back to the wall. But Muniz was not so fortunate with his 3-and-2 pitch to Glaus, who lifted a high fly ball to left that barely cleared Endy Chavez’s leaping attempt. It was reminiscent of
Chavez’s amazing grab of Scott Rolen’s deep shot in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS, only this time he didn’t come down with it.

“He got Rolen’s ball but he couldn’t get Glaus’ ball,” Manuel said. “Maybe we’ll go ahead and win the World Series now. That will turn it around for us.”

Chavez thought he had this one, too. But it just got over his glove, caromed off the Geico billboard and dropped between the wall and the bleachers.

“It was pretty close, but it didn’t hit my glove,” Chavez said. “For me, I did everything right. I just didn’t get to the point.”

The Mets erased deficits of 4-0 and 5-4 to take a 7-5 lead in the seventh inning. Carlos Delgado had an RBI single and Damion Easley added a sacrifice fly off Cards reliever Mark Mulder. When Russ Springer replaced him, Fernando Tatis followed with a pinch-hit RBI single with two outs.

But the Mets’ bullpen couldn’t close the deal. With Sanchez unavailable – he would have started the eighth inning -- Aaron Heilman made it through the seventh but was pulled after nailing Ryan Ludwick to open the eighth. With Duncan headed to the plate, Manuel called on Feliciano, and Duncan pulled his first pitch into the rightfield seats for a tying two-run homer.

While Martinez’s performance last night did not put to rest any lingering concerns, he was resilient enough to put the Mets back in a position to win right up to Ankiel’s 422-foot blast into the rightfield seats. Just looking at the numbers, it was another ugly night for Martinez, who allowed seven hits and five runs in five innings to push his ERA up to 7.39 in seven starts this season.

But most of that came in the first inning, when Martinez threw 32 pitches, surrendered five hits and served up a three-run homer to Glaus that put the Mets in a 4-0 hole. Over the next four innings, Martinez allowed only two hits – Ankiel’s homer and two-out single to Ryan Ludwick. In his last two starts, however, Martinez has been ripped for 13 hits and 11 runs in 10 2/3 innings. And it’s not something he’s been taking lightly.

“It’s been crossing my mind every time I go out there and look like I look,” Martinez said. “But I know someday it has to stop. And if I was to quit right now, I’d be a coward. You have a lot more chances to see me quit when everything is going smooth than right now. Right now is not the time that I’m going to quit. I’m going to try to find a way.

“I’m going to face whatever adversity is out there for me, and now I know how it feels to be on the other side of the coin. I’m just going to continue to battle and do what I can to help this team win a ballgame. If I fall short, I’m going to go home proudly. I’m not going to quit. That would probably be the easiest way right now and I’m not going to do that. There’s so many fans out there giving me support, I’m not going to let them down. If I’m going down or I’m going to quit, it’s going to be when things are going right.”

The press box announcer just said the game will resume in 10 minutes, that means approximately 9:10 p.m. central time, or as soon as Pedro Martinez finishes warming up. Guess I was wrong about him shutting it down after what looks like a 50-minute rain delay.

Stay tuned.

****** UPDATE ******** (9:05 p.m.)

Martinez is now warming up on the mound. The umpires are huddled over on the third-base line and Carlos Delgado is flipping grounders to the infielders. It's not raining but there are occasional flashes of lightning.

As the rain began to fall here, and the grounds crew sprinted for the tarp, Pedro Martinez stayed on the mound and stared up at the sky. He didn't move either, not until the first-base umpire, Paul Nauert, came over and ushered him off the field. Pedro was like Carl Spackler from Caddyshack trying to tell the bishop, "I don't think the heavy stuff is going to come down for a while."

But to no avail. The Mets rallied from a 4-0 deficit to cut it to 4-3 by the time the game was stopped, but Martinez is still on the hook if they lose this game.