Matt Holliday: Holliday (quad) hitless in return from DL

Jhonny Peralta’s solo homer in the sixth gave the Cardinals their second run of the inning and put the Mets in a 2-1 hole.

The St. Louis Cardinals announced prior to tonight’s series opening game against the New York Mets that they have activated All-Star outfielder Matt Holliday from the 15-day disabled list and optioned left-handed pitcher Nick Greenwood to Memphis (AAA).

“He’s just been and always has been a consistent presence in this lineup for a long time”, manager Mike Matheny said.

However, if the Cardinals want to stave off the surging Pirates, they are going to need to show improvement on offense.

The Mets rank 28th in scoring (3.48 rpg), 30th in hitting (.233) and 19th in homers (75), while on the mound they are 3rd in ERA (3.23) and 2nd in WHIP (1.27).

The bullpen allowed just one run the rest of the way.

Lynn was in command “except for the first batter” when he served up a 3-1 fastball to Granderson.

“Everybody in that locker room is going to have a chance to continue to move forward and be playoff bound”, he said before the AL’s 6-3 victory. “So it was a good night”. Nieuwenhuis made a leaping attempt but could not snag the ball at the wall.

“We battled our tails off till the very last strike”, Syndergaard said. “We just came up a little short”.

Syndergaard allowed two runs in the sixth that gave St. Louis the lead for good, and the Mets (47-43) placed the tying run at third with two outs in the ninth but John Mayberry Jr. struck out against Trevor Rosenthal.

“I was trying to give him a different look”, Rosenthal said.

The Mets will go through the rotation twice with five starters to begin the second half before beginning to employ a spot starter.

NOTE: Cardinals LF Matt Holliday returned from the DL for his second half debut. “Whatever Skip feels like is the best lineup out there to help us, that’s what I’m on board for”. He had nine strikeouts with one walk for St. Louis, which leads the majors with a 57-33 record but had lost three straight before the break. Curtis Granderson had a game-opening homer, but the Mets mustered only two other hits in seven innings against Lance Lynn. Lynn gave up the one run on three hits in seven innings of work.

Said Syndergaard: “I can’t be too mad about a performance like that”. Peter Bourjos added an RBI double in the eighth off Hansel Robles.

It was enough for Lynn. St. Louis’ John Lackey provides the opposition and has pitched well at Busch Stadium, posting a 5-2 mark with a slim 1.98 ERA in nine starts this season.

They rank eighth in the National League in runs scored with 355, but they still hold the Major League’s best record. As stated by Goold, Holliday took batting practice with the N.L. All Stars and performed running drills with the team in the outfield before the game in preparation for his return. Pierzynski…. Cardinals LHP Jaime Garcia (groin) won’t start until at least next weekend.