NEW YORK — Slated to see a reliever the Mets planned to use as an opener in the first inning on Wednesday at Citi Field, the Cardinals didn't take long to open the scoring in what became a second consecutive runaway win over New York.

The Cardinals collected two runs in the first inning off right-hander Austin Warren, tacked on another two runs in the third, with those coming against left-hander David Peterson, and piled on with three runs in the third, another one in the fifth, and an additional one in the ninth. The constant offense, highlighted by four RBIs from Jordan Walker and two from Nelson Velazquez, powered the Cardinals to a 9-2 win that marked their sixth consecutive win.

The Cardinals (37-28) received three homers in the win over New York. The first came from Velazquez and the second from Walker, who opened the scoring with a single in the first inning and set a career high in homers with his 17th. Alec Burleson's solo homer in the ninth furthered a lead protected by the Cardinals' pitching staff.

The Cardinals' early offensive barrage was backed up by quality six innings from starter Andre Pallante, two innings of relief from Matt Svanson and one from JoJo Romero.

Pallante limited the Mets to two runs and three hits while striking out five batters. Pallante faced stress in the third inning when he loaded the bases with a two-out walk to Juan Soto. He escaped the jam with a groundout in the next at-bat. He did not allow the Mets to score their first runs of the series until the fourth inning, when he allowed a two-run homer to Francisco Alvarez.

Walker hits No. 17, keeps RBIs going

One homer away from surpassing the career-high home run total he set as a rookie in 2023, Walker unleashed his milestone swing on the third pitch he saw from Peterson. Walker lifted a 92.5-mph fastball and sent it 401 feet to left-center field to best the home run mark he set at 21 years old.

At 24 years old, Walker had produced a .303 batting average, a .926 OPS and 52 RBIs in 64 games. With his RBI in the first inning, Walker extended his RBI streak to five consecutive games. The homer gave him his fifth multi-hit game in his previous six games. Two of those performances include three-hit efforts during the Cardinals' most recent home stand.

Pallante limits Mets to two

The only offense Pallante gave up to the Mets lineup came in the fourth inning on a two-run homer he allowed to Alvarez. The home run pitch came on a slider left over the middle of the plate.

Pitching with a seven-run lead entering the fourth inning, Pallante issued a one-out walk to A.J. Ewing after striking out Marcus Semien to begin the inning. Having struck out Alvarez in the second inning on a 1-2 sinker that got the Mets’ catcher to chase, Pallante welcomed Alvarez in the fourth inning with a slider thrown on the outer half of the plate that got a swing and a miss. He bounced a knuckle curve in the dirt that Alvarez laid off. His next pitch, however, was too center cut for Alvarez to lay off.

On an 85.6-mph slider left over the heart of the strike zone, Alvarez swung the Mets to their first runs of the series by hitting Pallante’s breaking pitch 368 feet to left field.

Velazquez gets swing off

Left looking at strike three from Warren after a successful Automated Ball-Strike Challenge extended his at-bat in the first inning by one additional pitch, Velazquez did against the left-handed Peterson what the Cardinals have come to expect from him when facing a lefty.

The right-handed hitting Velazquez slugged.

Velazquez jumped on the first pitch he saw from Peterson and sent it 403 feet to left-center field for a two-run blast that doubled the Cardinals’ lead.

Velazquez’s homer off Peterson was his second since making his debut on May 29 versus the Cubs. Velazquez’s first homer of the year came on the first pitch he saw from Chicago lefty Shota Imanaga.

He entered his start in left field 4 for 12 vs. lefties since returning to the majors and was slotted seventh in the order on Wednesday with the thought that his first turn in the order could come up with Peterson set to follow Warren out of the bullpen.

Spoiling the opening act

Their lineup aligned in a way to match up against the Mets’ opener Warren and the lefty set to pitch behind him, the Cardinals greeted Warren with immediate production. What started with a leadoff single from JJ Wetherholt turned into a two-run inning that included RBIs from Walker and Masyn Winn as the Cardinals moved from station to station around the bases.

Behind Wetherholt, Herrera walked and Burleson hit a grounder to second base slow enough that Semien could only get the out at first base while both runners advanced.

With an RBI in each of his previous four games entering Wednesday, Walker extended his RBI streak to five consecutive games with a 107.7-mph single to left field to plate Wetherholt and move Herrera up 90 feet.

After Lars Nootbaar walked to load the bases, Winn's hustle down the line allowed the Cardinals to add onto their first-inning lead.

Winn grounded a ball to Semien but managed to beat Bo Bichette’s throw to first base on the Mets’ attempt to turn an inning-ending double play.

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