Griffin Canning delivered a dominant six-inning performance with eight strikeouts, while Mark Vientos blasted his first home run of to power the New York Mets to a 4-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. The win at Citi Field extended the Mets’ strong start to 12-7, including a 6-1 home record, while the Cardinals fell to 9-1 with a dismal 1-6 road mark.
Vientos ignited the offense in the second inning, launching a 338-foot solo shot just inside the right-field foul pole, ending a 19-game homerless drought[^9][^10]. The Mets capitalized with three more runs in the frame, including RBI singles from Brett Baty and Francisco Lindor, who later executed a rundown play that allowed Tyrone Taylor to score[^7][^9].
Canning (2-1), pitching through recent illness, shook off a shaky first inning to retire nine consecutive batters late, allowing just three hits and one run. His 102-pitch outing marked a season high for Mets starters[^6][^9]. The bullpen sealed the deal, with Edwin Díaz earning his fourth save despite a ninth-inning walk[^6].
St. Louis’ Brendan Donovan extended his MLB-best hitting streak to games with an RBI single, but starter Andre Pallante (2-1) couldn’t contain the Mets’ second-inning surge[^6][^9]. New York looks to build momentum Friday as David Peterson faces Miles Mikolas in the series’ second matchup[^9].
