St. Louis Cardinals vs. New York Mets Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 5/18/2022

Time: 7:10 p.m. ET

Venue: Citi Field, Flushing, NY

Where to watch: Bally Sports Midwest, SNY

DraftKings:  Mets -190, Cardinals +160

BetMGM:  Mets -190, Cardinals +155

Caesars:  Mets -208, Cardinals +180

Cardinals: 20-16

Mets: 24-14

The St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets split a doubleheader on Tuesday that saw the Mets take the opener against Miles Mikolas, and the Cardinals winning 4-3 in the nightcap thanks to Tyler O'Neill's go-ahead RBI in the ninth inning.

O'Neill delievered when needed most and got the Cardinals an important win despite their recent slide. The Mets had two on with two out, but Giovanny Gallegos continued his strong start as the Cardinals' closer with a big-time save after striking out Francisco Lindor.

But the hero was O'Neill who reached base on a infield single and made the most of his big-time play.

“I was trying to get something over the plate. I got cuffed a little bit, but [the Mets] were playing in the right spot. I came out with a single,” O’Neill said. “I was trying to get the ball in play. … Good things are going to happen when you do that."

The Cardinals have had a rough go as of late minus the MVP play of Nolan Arenado, but the heart of the lineup, including O'Neill has lost some mojo as of late. The Cardinals are very much capable of going on a big run and getting some much needed runs on the board, but they can't let go of an effort from Mikolas while he's only giving up a couple of runs while St. Louis can only plate one. There's no real consistency there.

“[The outing] was not great,” Mikolas said. “I was able to clean up there at the end. The Mets were putting some good swings on the ball early. We made adjustments on our pitch calling. I was able to have a couple of clean innings at the end that kind of kept us in the ballgame a little bit.”

The New York Mets continue to show why they are one of the best teams in baseball because they can do it all. You need runs? They have an offense to do it. You need dominant pitching to win a low-scoring game? They have that, too.

They even have enough in the opposition to slow down one of the better emerging aces in the league.

The Mets got two runs off Mikolas and had eight hits; all three runs came in the first two innings while the Mets used their bullpen to take down the heart of the Cardinals' lineup.

Jeff McNeil went 2-for-4 with an RBI to continue his all-star calliber season, and Domining Smith also had two hits and chipped in with an RBI.

"A lot of good at-bats," Mets manager Buck Showalter said. "We didn't strike out a whole lot off him until later on. He's a good one. He's got a lot of weapons."

Part of that win was Trevor Williams throwing four scoreless innings, who replaced the injured Tylor Megill in the rotation.

"I'm just happy to contribute," Williams said. "I know this is what my job is, is to save the bullpen."

Max Scherzer takes the mound for the Mets and given he had some struggles against Philadelphia the last few times out, I think he can settle in againsst a struggling Cardinals lineup and get himself a much-needed win. It's kind of wild that the Mets are 10 games above .500 with a lot of baseball to go. One of the reasons why that is is because of Scherzer, and he'll prove it again. Mets win 5-1

Cardinals are 40-45 the past three seasons as a road underdog.

Cardinals are 20-19 against NL East opponents the past three seasons.

Mets are 19-7 against right-handed starters this season.

Teams are 31-12 the past three seasons when Scherzer starts and the team is a favorite of at least -110.

Cardinals:
Tommy Edman (S) 2B
Paul Goldschmidt (R) 1B
Nolan Arenado (R) 3B
Juan Yepez (R) LF
Albert Pujols (R) DH
Yadier Molina (R) C
Dylan Carlson (S) RF
Harrison Bader (R) CF
Edmundo Sosa (R) SS
SP - Jordan Hicks

Mets:
Brandon Nimmo (L) CF
Starling Marte (R) RF
Francisco Lindor (S) SS
Pete Alonso (R) 1B
Mark Canha (R) LF
J.D. Davis (R) DH
Eduardo Escobar (S) 3B
Jeff McNeil (L) 2B
Tomas Nido (R) C
SP - Max Scherzer

Batting average: Paul Goldschmidt -- .321

Hits: Paul Goldschmmidt -- 43

Home runs: Nolan Arenado -- 8

RBI: Nolan Arenado -- 29

Wins: Adam Wainwright -- 4

Saves: Giovanny Gallegos -- 7

ERA: Miles Mikolas -- 1.68

Batting average: Jeff McNeil -- .312

Hits: Two tied -- 39

Home runs: Pete Alonso -- 8

RBI: Pete Alonso -- 29

Wins: Three tied -- 4

Saves: Edwin Diaz -- 9

ERA: Chris Bassitt -- 2.34