Mets, struggling offensively, hope Freddy Peralta can shut down St. Louis Cardinals

Kodai Senga's strong performance in a tough-luck loss Tuesday night provided some evidence that he can be the No. 2 starter the New York Mets need behind Freddy Peralta.

The Mets also need the offensive firepower they displayed in the season opener, when Peralta made his debut with the Mets after being acquired in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers in January.

New York will look to snap out of an early-season offensive slump Wednesday afternoon in the rubber game of a three-game series against the Cardinals in St. Louis.

The right-handed Peralta (1-0, 7.20 ERA) is scheduled to oppose Cardinals left-hander Matthew Liberatore (0-0, 1.80 ERA).

The Cardinals evened the series Tuesday night when Andre Pallante and four relievers combined on a three-hit shutout in a 3-0 victory.

The shutout loss was the first of the season for the Mets, who have just 11 runs in their past four games since beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-7 in the season opener last Thursday.

Five of New York's runs since Opening Day came in extra innings in consecutive games against Pittsburgh on Saturday and Sunday.

The Mets' offensive struggles Tuesday eliminated any margin for error for Senga, who became the first New York starter this season to complete six innings.

Senga struck out nine and allowed both runs during a seven-pitch sequence in the third inning. Victor Scott II doubled over the head of Luis Robert Jr. after the Mets' center fielder initially broke in on the ball, and JJ Wetherholt followed with a single before Ivan Herrera laced a two-run double to left.

The start was the longest for Senga since June 6. Six days later, he exited a game against the Washington Nationals after 5 2/3 innings due to a hamstring injury and went 0-3 with a 5.90 ERA in his final nine starts after his return July 11.

"It really felt like I'm a starting pitcher again," Senga said.

Offense hasn't been a problem thus far for the Cardinals, who embarked upon their first rebuilding project of the century over the winter yet rank third in the National League with 27 runs.

Manager Oliver Marmol said he was particularly encouraged Tuesday by the Cardinals' aggressiveness on the basepath. Wetherholt raced to second when Robert overthrew the cutoff man on his single, which eliminated the double play and made it easier for him to score on Herrera's double.

"We're going to need every bit of that from all of our guys," Marmol said. "Being able to take the extra base whenever it's there has to be part of our game."

Peralta earned the win over the Pirates on Opening Day, when he allowed four runs over five innings in New York's 11-7 victory.

Liberatore started for the Cardinals in their opener last Thursday but didn't factor into the decision after giving up one run and seven hits over five innings as St. Louis beat the Tampa Bay Rays 9-7.

Peralta is 5-6 with a 4.67 ERA in 20 career games (16 starts) against the Cardinals, while Liberatore is 0-2 with a 5.17 ERA in four games (two starts) against the Mets.

--Field Level Media