Mets skipper Carlos Mendoza reveals reason for removing $78M star in outing vs. Cardinals

The New York Mets suffered consecutive one-run defeats against the St. Louis Cardinals in Sunday's doubleheader to concede the three-game series,. dropping their record to 12-13 for the season.

During the narrow 5-4 loss in the second game of Sunday's doubleheader, the Mets witnessed an early exit for Starling Marte, who was making his first start in the outfield this season.

While Marte's exit in the fifth inning sparked injury concerns, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza revealed the reason behind it after the series finale. Mendoza said:

"It was part of the plan. He was not going to go more than five innings on defense after not playing since spring training. We wanted to get Soto off his feet and it was a good opportunity for Marte, but he is fine."

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Marte, who is on a $78,000,000 contract with the Mets, started in right field for the Mets, replacing superstar slugger Juan Soto. The Dominican All-Star was given the role of the designated hitter in the series finale. Marte was replaced in the fifth inning by Jose Azocar.

Starling Marte's effort goes in vain after Juan Soto's home run robbery in Mets loss

The Mets trailed early in the game after Alec Burleson's two-run home run off Tyler Megill in the bottom of the second inning. New York responded instantly as Pete Alonso had an RBI single in the third inning to make it a one-run game.

Alonso's single was followed by Starling Marte's two-run single, giving the Mets a 3-2 lead. The Mets added another run with Francisco Albarez's RBI single to conclude a four-run inning.

The Cardinals responded with two runs in the bottom of the third inning to tie the game at 4-4. The Mets were on the brink of retaking the lead after Juan Soto slugged a fly ball toward centerfield with runners on base.

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However, Victor Scott II leaped over the fence for a spectacular grab, robbing Soto of a three-run home run. Scott II added a run with an RBI double in the sixth inning to give the Cardinals a 5-4 lead, which turned out to be the final score, completing a doubleheader sweep.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash