The New York Mets are changing things up as they look to get back on track

The Mets are currently the first team out of a wild card spot. The Cardinals are right behind them. Both teams bought at the deadline and are gunning for a playoff spot. These teams will be competing against each other for the rest of the season.

The wild card race gets very tight. A tiebreaker can make the difference in who is in and who isn’t. Because of that, the Mets have even more reason to win this game.

Putting the added importance in the wild card race aside, this is a game the Mets really want to win. They are in their first skid in a while. The team could use a big win to get the vibes back up. The last thing they need is to take a loss today and roll into a six game west coast trip in a defeated mode.

The good news is that they have their best starter on the mound. Sean Manaea has been excellent for the Mets and is coming off of his best start of the year. He also has already pitched a quality outing against the Cardinals this year.

He earned a win in that game after pitching six solid innings.

Here is how the Mets lineup behind him.

1.) SS Francisco Lindor

2.) RF Tyrone Taylor

3.) LF Brandon Nimmo

4.) DH J.D. Martinez

5.) 1B Pete Alonso

6.) 3B Jose Iglesias

7.) 2B Jeff McNeil

8.) C Francisco Alvarez

9.) CF Harrison Bader

SP Sean Manaea

Manager Carlos Mendoza made some big changes to the lineup today. First of all, Tyrone Taylor moved up to second in the order. Brandon Nimmo drops to third in the lineup.

The real surprise comes with Pete Alonso’s spot in the order. Alonso is batting outside of the cleanup spot for the first time since 2020. It is a bold choice from Mendoza. It makes a lot of sense. The Cardinals moved their star Paul Goldschmidt down in the order and he began to find success again.

Maybe it will be a wake up call or even light a fire under Alonso.

It is also surprising to see Jesse Winker out of the lineup. Winker has an OPS over 1.000 at Busch Stadium and will almost certainly not start tomorrow against a lefty. However, Mendoza still decided to sit him.

Francisco Alvarez has also been moved down to the eight spot. He has been really struggling since the All Star break. We will see if the drop down in the order can get him going

The Mets have faced the Cardinals starter, Andre Pallante seven times. Pallante has done very well against them, however, this is his first time starting against them.

Here is how the Cards lineup with Pallante.

1.) SS Masyn Winn

2.) LF Tommy Pham

3.) DH Willson Contreras

4.) 1B Paul Goldschmidt

5.) 3B Nolan Arenado

6.) RF Alec Burleson

7.) 2B Brendan Donovan

8.) C Pedro Páges

9.) CF Victor Scott II

SP Andre Pallante

The Mets will face their old buddy Tommy Pham tonight. Pham had some choice words about how the Mets locker room ran last year. He would love to have a good game and continue to mess with the Mets. It helps that he is hitting over .500 with a 1.818 OPS in 11 at bats against Manaea. That should be a fun matchup today.

How To Watch

The first pitch is scheduled for 5:15 EST. Mets fans can watch the game on SNY, MLB Network or MLB.TV. You can listen to the game on WCBS 880 or at WINS 92.3 HD2