Mets complete four-game sweep over Cardinals with 7-4 win

The Mets finished off a four-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals with a 7-4 win on Easter Sunday at Citi Field.

Here are the takeaways…

-After ending Friday night’s game with a solo shot, Francisco Lindor started this one off with a leadoff home run against Sonny Gray — Lindor’s third career homer against Gray, who has allowed five dingers already this season.

Lindor is now 9-for-20 when leading off the game and appears to have put his bad start to the year in the rearview mirror. He finished 3-for-5 and bumped his average up to .271.

-New York may have stolen its second run in the third inning, taking advantage of the scouting report on the Cardinals’ outfield defense.

After Tyrone Taylor and Lindor singles put runners on the corners to bring up Juan Soto in another opportunity with runners in scoring position — one in which Soto has struggled this season after excelling mightily in that spot last year with the Yankees — the outfielder hit a shallow fly ball to Lars Nootbaar in left field. Without skipping a beat, Taylor raced home after the catch and beat Nootbaar’s throw home to double the Mets’ lead.

-Pitching with an early lead, Clay Holmes had his best outing for New York and was able to complete six innings for the first time as a member of the Mets. The right-hander allowed just one run on four hits and two walks while striking out six and throwing 91 pitches (58 strikes).

The only run Holmes allowed came in the sixth inning, but it could’ve been more if not for Brandon Nimmo‘s leaping catch at the wall to rob Jordan Walker of a home run and end the inning.

-After being unable to get deeper into games as a whole, New York’s pitching staff has now gone at least six innings in four of its past nine games after doing so only once in its first 13 games.

–Pete Alonso stayed hot with an RBI single in the fifth inning as the first baseman now leads the NL with 24 RBI.

-The Mets saw their lead disappear in the seventh inning after reliever Danny Young entered. The lefty allowed a hit and a walk and left after striking out Nootbaar for the second out of the inning. Looking for the final out of the frame, Jose Butto got jumped on by Thomas Saggese, who doubled his first pitch to drive in two runs and tie the game.

-New York got the lead right back in the bottom half of the inning as Nimmo, facing former Met Phil Maton, got his first hit of the day to drive in Lindor before the Mets piled on in the eighth.

On the strength of three doubles, the Mets scored three insurance runs to make it 7-3. Luisangel Acuña, who had another positive day at the plate by going 2-for-4, started things off with a chopper to the left side of the infield that was deflected by third baseman Nolan Gorman. It allowed Acuña to get to second base for a hustle double.

Taylor followed with his second hit of the day, a conventional double to right field, that scored a run before Soto brought in two with a slicing double to center field and cashing in on another RISP opportunity.

–Ryne Stanek pitched the ninth and allowed his first run of the season.

Game MVP: Juan Soto

Soto was in the middle of all the action, and his two-run double in the eighth put the icing on the cake.

Highlights

What’s next

The Mets begin a three-game set with the Philadelphia Phillies at home starting on Monday night. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. on SNY.

RHP Tylor Megill (2-2, 1.40 ERA) goes for New York and will be opposed by RHP Aaron Nola (0-4, 6.65 ERA).

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