NY Mets at St. Louis Cardinals 5/5/21 - MLB Picks & Predictions

After a cancellation yesterday the New York Mets will meet up with the St. Louis Cardinals in the front side of a double-header at Busch Stadium. The Mets won the final two games on the road at Philadelphia but dropped the series opener against the Cardinals 6-5, they’re a game under .500 at 11-12 but just ½ a game back. St. Louis is riding a wave of momentum having won five straight games and now sit tied atop the NL Central at 17-12 on the season.

The Mets started slow, especially at the plate, but have moved into the top-10 of batting average hitting .240 on the season. Unfortunately, those hits haven’t led to runs where they rank 3.3 runs per game ranking 29th in the nation in scoring offense. First baseman Pete Alonso continues to be one of the best bats in baseball, he’s hitting .282 with a team-best 5 homeruns and 16 RBIs in just 23 games. 

Arguably the highest-profile signing of the offseason was Mets’ shortstop Fransisco Lindor inking a 10-year, 341 million dollar deal. It hasn’t panned out yet this season, where he’s hitting just .163 with a single home run and 3 RBIs in 23 games. Brandon Nimmo has produced in the outfield he’s hitting a team-best .318 with 8 RBIs.

The right-hander Marcus Stroman will get the ball and hope to continue his lights’ out start to the year, he’s 3-2 with a 1.86 ERA on the year. His last start wasn’t his best but was a solid outing nonetheless pitching 5 innings allowing three hits and two runs whilst striking out 8 in a 2-1 loss to the Phillies. Stroman has allowed just 9 runs in 29 innings this season, whilst striking out 23 across that time.

St. Louis is a team on the opposite side of the spectrum for the Mets, as they come in 8th in the MLBN in scoring offense averaging 4.76 runs per game but have hit 38 homeruns, 6th in MLB, and are hitting just .229 as a team ranking 18th in the MLB in team batting average. If Lindor wasn’t the biggest offseason news, it was 3rd baseman Nolan Arenado who signed with the Cardinals and has driven in 21 runs while hitting .265 on the year. 

The left-handed Kwang Hyun Kim will get the ball in his fourth start of the year, he’s posting a 3.29 ERA and is 1-0 on the year. His last start two starts have been solid, but he hasn’t worked deep into games yet this season with a combined 10.2 innings, allowing 2 hits and striking out 12. Kim has struck out 16 and walked just 1 in his 3 starts this season.