Mets’ deGrom allows 3 HRs in 8-1 loss to Cardinals

In games where it is the underdog, NY has a 17-24 record and an overall money line of -1,344.

The New York Mets continue their tumultuous season on the road against the St. Louis Cardinals and they will look to shake off an ugly outing yesterday at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals went on to win for the seventh time in nine games.

The Mets said he came out in the second inning as a precaution.

The Mets sit in third place in the NL East with a 63-63 record.

Why not? While this season hardly has been a joyride for the defending NL champs, they do keep us entertained, and nearly impossible to predict. After putting left-hander Jonathon Niese on the 15-day DL with left knee pain, the Mets had to pull right fielder Jay Bruce with a right calf cramp in the second inning.

“The biggest thing for me is keeping from getting behind in the counts and having to throw pitches over the middle of the plate”, Lugo said. “That last pitch I threw in warmups, the third or fourth pitch, it felt different”.

Unable to free himself from the most unforgiving month of his career, Wainwright left Thursday’s game with his team trailing, 7-0. Jedd Gyorko pumped out a single and Brandon Moss sends the two-seamer off the first baseline foul pole for a two-run homer.

Cardinals: Adam Wainwright (9-7, 4.71) allowed four home runs in 6 2/3 innings on July 27 and got a no-decision in his lone appearance against the Mets this season. The Mets won Tuesday’s opener by relying on Robert Gsellman, then watched helplessly as Jacob deGrom got hammered by the Cards in the following night’s loss. All seven came against Wainwright, though due to two errors only two of the runs were earned. He allowed four runs and six hits in five innings.

“(Muchlinski) said you’ve got to show possession”, Wainwright said. “I don’t know what else I could have done there”.

Alejandro De Aza homered and drove in five runs, helping Seth Lugo earn his first major league win.

WASHINGTON – Max Scherzer allowed two hits over eight innings and Bryce Harper’s two-run double helped the Washington Nationals avoid a four-game home-and-home sweep with a 4-0 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night.

“We had trouble getting anything going (against Lugo)”, manager Mike Matheny said. James Loney finished with three hits for the Mets, who got two hits apiece from De Aza, Rivera, Flores and Asdrubal Cabrera. The Cardinals won the last game 8-1, and the series is now tied 1-1. He’s traditionally struggled against NY, going 3-4 with a 5.17 ERA in 10 career outings.

NOTES: St. Louis RHP Michael Wacha (right shoulder) is optimistic that he will return to the club this year, even though it will be transitioning to a relief role.

Right-hander Erik Goeddel was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas.