On the Mets beat

Mets (40-42) take on the St. Louis Cardinals (48-36)

Pitchers: Tony Armas, Jr. (0-0, 0.00 ERA) v. Todd Wellemeyer (7-2, 3.46)

The Mets are coming off a bittersweet split against the Yankees, but remain in shooting distance of first place in the East, thanks mostly to the Phillies' recent collapse. They're 3.5 games out, nestled between the Marlins (.5 games back) and the Braves (four games). The Cardinals are in a similar boat, albeit against the NL-leading Cubs. The Mets will have the unenviable task of trying to contain Albert Pujols, who came off the DL on Thursday.

On the pitchers: The Mets are taking something of a gamble on Armas, who was called up from triple-A for this spot start. The injury-prone righty has a decent fastball and a great curve, but never fully bounced back after his arm troubles in 2003 forced him to miss a chunk of that season and the next. After fully recovering, he went 9-12 in 2006 and pitched briefly for the Pirates in 2007 before bad numbers cost him his job. He's had decent success in New Orleans, pitching to a 5-6 record with 2.50 ERA. He's also stayed healthy in over 100 innings of work. Armas, right now, is fighting for a spot in the bullpen and this will be as good a tryout as any.

First, though, he'll have to get past Wellemeyer, who's been very solid for the Cardinals this year and is coming off a great May, where he went 4-0 with a 2.19 ERA. He was strong in his last start against the Tigers, shutting them out for five innings before handing it off to the pen, but got the no-decision in the 3-2 loss. His start before that, against Philly, was less successful - he was touched up for eight runs (the most he's given up this season) in 3.1 innings of work.

Laura Albanese here to take you through it.

FINAL: 7-4, METS.

Bottom of the ninth
Wagner in to close out the game. Brian Barton in to hit and he strikes out. Ryan flies out to right center. Ryan Ludwick comes in to pinch hit for Schumaker. Wagner strikes him out looking to end the game.

Top of the ninth
Wright grounds out to short and Beltran flies out to left. Church flies out to center to end the inning.

Bottom of the eighth
Duaner Sanchez in to pitch. Troy Glaus hits a long fly ball to left but Church runs it down for the out. Duncan flies out to left. Molina hits a shot off of Sanchez, who goes down. Wright plays it for the out. Sanchez gets up and walks off the field.

Top of the eighth
Marlon Anderson in to pinch hit. He pops out to third. Reyes grounds out to first and Chavez flies out to center.

Bottom of the seventh
Heilman in to pitch. Schumaker hits a grounder back to the mound for the out. Pujols drills a double to second. Feliciano in. Ankiel flies out.

Top of the seventh
Church flies out to shallow left. Delgado gets a ground-rule double and Easley flies out. Delgado tags up and goes to third. Castro flies out to end the inning.

Bottom of the sixth
Glaus hits a grounder over the third-base bag for a double. Chris Duncan lines to left to put men on first and third with no outs. Molina flies out foul and scores Glaus from third. 7-4, METS. Brad Thompson pops out. Ryan pops out to second.

SCORE: 7-4, METS

Top of the sixth
Brad Thompson in to pitch. Reyes shoots a ball to shallow center and Ankiel dives to catch the ball falling in front of him for the out. Easley grounds out to first. Wright hits a home run to left for his third hit of the game. 7-3, Mets. Beltran grounds out to end the inning.

SCORE: 7-3, METS

Bottom of the fifth
Miles flies out to left on the first pitch and Pujols flies out to right. Ankiel flies out to left.

Top of the fifth
Chavez bunts through strike out and fouls off his second attempt. He pulls back and gets a basehit to right. Wright lines a double to left to make it second and third with no outs. Beltran grounds out. Chavez scores and Wright moves to third. 4-3, Mets. Church pulls the ball right over the first-base bag to score Wright. Church goes to second. 5-3, Mets. The Cards walk Delgado intentionally to put men on first and second with one out. Easley pops out to shallow center. Castro hits a linedrive to center to drive in Church. 6-3, Mets. Armas lines out to end the inning.

SCORE: 6-3, METS

Bottom of the fourth
Molina flies out to start the inning. Wellemeyer strikes out for his second out. Ryan singles to left to bring up Schumaker. Ryan runs and Castro's throw sails to centefield. Ryan moves over to third. Shumaker grounds out to Easley.

Top of the fourth
Church grounds out to first. Delgado lines a single to left and Easley mashes a hanging slider to left to put runners at first and second. Castro hits a ball all the way to the wall and Delgado and Easley score to tie the game. Castro goes to second. 3-3. Armas grounds out to first for the 1-3. Castro goes to third. Reyes hits a chopper to short for the out.

SCORE: 3-3

Bottom of the third
Pujols flies out and Ankiel strikes out swinging. Glaus walks. Chris Duncan grounds out to Easley. Good inning by Armas against the heart of the order.

Top of the third
Reyes hits a slow grounder to third for the out. Chavez flies out to left. Wright hits one off of Glaus' glove for a single to right. Beltran strikes out.

Bottom of the second
Molina grounds a single up the middle. Wellemeyer bunts Molina over. Brendan Ryan strikes out swinging. Schumaker drives a double to center after a long at-bat. Molina scores. 3-1, Cards. Miles grounds out to shortstop.

Top of the second
Church singles up the middle. Carlos Delgado laces a double over Schumaker's head. Church holds up to see if it'll be caught and gets held at third. Damion Easley grounds out to short. Church scores and Delgado holds at second. 2-1, Mets. Ramon Castro strikes out swinging. Armas pops out to shallow right.

SCORE: 2-1, Cards

Bottom of the first
Skip Schumaker grounds out to second to start the inning. Aaron Miles rips a linedrive to the rightfield corner for a double. Pujols hits it to short, Reyes boots the ball but recovers in time to get the out at first. Rick Ankiel hits a two-run home run to right take the lead. 2-0, Cards. Troy Glaus singles to left. Chris Duncan pops out to shallow center to end the inning.

SCORE: 2-0, Cards

Top of the first
Jose Reyes leads off with a single to left. Yadier Molina cuts down Reyes trying to steal. Chavez follows up with a hit to right. Wright walks and Wellemeyer does not look strong at all. Beltran grounds out to Pujols at first and the runners advance to first and third. Wellemeyer floats a wild pitch while Chavez breaks from third. The ball hits the backstop and hops right back to Molina. Chavez gets caught in the rundown for the third out.