Coming off a series victory in their opening weekend in front of the Flushing Faithful, the Mets (2-1) look to keep bring that same energy on the road as they face the Cardinals (2-1). New York took four of six from St. Louis in 2025, including a sweep at Citi Field in April. They won their first game at Busch Stadium in May, but they were swept in a doubleheader two days later.

The Mets started the year by taking two out of three against the Pirates. Opening Day saw the introduction of a lot of new faces, and they all contributed in some capacity in an 11-7 victory over Pittsburgh. The Mets got hits from everyone except Bo Bichette, who did drive in the first run in the season on a sac fly. Everyone drove in a run except Francisco Lindor, who scored three runs. Carson Benge, after two at-bats in which he struck out and looked overmatched, homered for his first major league hit and RBI, and stole a base later in the game for good measure. Freddy Peralta got a win in his first start as a Met despite not looking as sharp as we’re accustomed to. For good measure, the Mets scored five runs in the first and chased Paul Skenes from the game after 2/3 of an inning, a first in the career of the reigning NL Cy Young award winner, as he was showered with jeers and waves while walking off the mound. All that made for a festive and happy Opening Day at Citi Field.

The other two games were a little more uneven, as the Mets won 4-2 on Saturday in walk-off fashion but fell 4-3 on Sunday in extra innings. The offense, which went 11-for-34 (.324) on Thursday and went 5-f0r-15 with RISP, was much less impressive in these two games, albeit it facing much colder temperatures. The lineup, which looked different each of the three games, went 6-for-35 on Saturday and 9-for-37 on Sunday. They also went 3-for-14 while leaving nine on base in Saturday’s win and followed that up with a 2-for-10 performance with eight left on base in Sunday’s defeat. Saturday’s game remained scoreless into the ninth, and after the teams traded runs in the tenth, the Pirates jumped ahead in the tenth before a dramatic, three-run walk-off home run off the bat of Luis Robert Jr. Sunday’s game went into extras tied at two, but the Pirates scored two runs. Juan Soto, who drove in a run earlier in the game, hit a gapper that scored the extra runner, but Lindor, who walked in the inning, was thrown out at home. Win some, lose some.

It was a mixed bag for the newbies on opening weekend. Robert was the clear standout, with highlights including his ten-pitch at-bat against Skenes, his aforementioned walk-off, and his two hits on Sunday. He looked to have the star power to handle the New York spotlight. Bichette, meanwhile, recorded just one hit and the sac fly while striking out eight times in 14 official at-bats, which is not we’re used to seeing from Bichette. The defense was also a mixed bag, as both Bichette and Jorge Polanco, manning new positions, made some nice plays and also messed up some seemingly routine plays. These are the growing pains fans can expect to endure over a 162-game season with a relatively new roster and players undergoing both a chance of scenery in terms of city and the position they play on the field.

Speaking of growing pains, the Cardinals are a very different team from the one fans have come to expect. The team has unloaded a lot of veterans that have become staples of their roster, including Nolan Arenado (traded to the Diamondbacks), Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras (both traded to the Red Sox), and Brendan Donovan (traded to the Mariners). The club was mainly quiet on impact moves, signing Dustin May, Ramón Urías, and old friend Ryne Stanek on one-year contracts.

As a result, St. Louis enters this the 2026 season with a relatively young team. In fact, every member of their starting eight is under 30 years old, something that has not happened in St. Louis since the 1944 season. The early results were mostly positive, as they took two out of three against the Rays at home to kick off 2026—like the Mets, they won the first two before dropping the series finale. St. Louis, who finished last season 79-83 and have missed the postseason in three consecutive seasons, will look to avoid back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 1958-1959 (a stat that is almost impossible to believe if Gary Cohen had not referenced it on Sunday’s broadcast)

Mets fans will get their first professional look at JJ Wetherholt, whom St. Louis drafted seventh overall in the 2024 MLB Draft. Wetherholt, who was ranked No. 5 by MLB Pipeline heading into the season, made the team out of spring training and homered in his second career at-bat, a third inning solo shot off Drew Rasmussen. The 23-year-old recorded four hits, four runs batted in, and two runs scored in his first three games big league games.

Monday, March 30: Clay Holmes vs. Kyle Leahy, 7:45 PM EDT on SNY

Holmes (2025): 165.2 IP, 129 K, 66 BB, 14 HR, 3.53 ERA, 4.11 FIP, 87 ERA-

Holmes’ 2025 season was an experiment that worked out as well as can be expected for both parties. The right-hander, who enjoyed elite seasons as a late-inning high-leverage reliever (and closer), signed a three-year deal to transition to starting pitching, and rewarded his organization with 165 2/3 innings and a team-leading 12 wins. He slowed down a bit in the later stages of the year as his workload increased well beyond his career norms, but the gamble paid off well.

Leahy (2025): 88.0 IP, 80 K, 28 BB, 5 HR, 3.o7 ERA, 3.04 FIP, 75 ERA-

The 28-year-old right-hander set career highs in innings and appearances (62) for St. Louis last year and has been selected to the Opening Day roster for the second consecutive season. Last year, he was mostly utilized as a reliever and set a career-best with a 1.6 bWAR. He did make one start last year, in his final appearance of the year on September 28. In that outing against the Cubs, he hurled three shutout frames while holding Chicago to one hit.

Tuesday, March 31: Kodai Senga vs. Andre Pallante, 7:45 PM EDT on SNY

Senga (2025): 113.1 IP, 109 K, 55 BB, 12 HR, 3.02 ERA, 4.12 FIP, 74 ERA-

You could make a serious case for Senga being the most important player on the Mets this year. When he’s at his best, he brings ace-like talent with one of the sickest pitches in the league. The key for the right-hander is remaining healthy, something he alluded to early on in spring training. He looked like a Cy Young candidate early in the 2025 season, but following an injury in his June 12 outing, he missed time and could not recapture that dominance, so his final stats on the season don’t quite tell the full story. He looked terrific this spring, posting a 1.86 ERA in 9 2/3 innings across his three Grapefruit League appearances. He posted a 0.72 WHIP and limited opponents to a .176 batting average.

Pallante (2025): 162.2 IP, 111 K, 62 BB, 21 HR, 5.31 ERA, 4.68 FIP, 129 ERA-

Pallante endured the worst season of his four-year career, posting a -1.1 bWAR in 31 starts for St. Louis last year after finishing with a positive bWAR in each of his first three seasons. Along with the unsightly 5.31 ERA, he led the league with 12 wild pitches and posted a 1.45 WHIP. He’s also not somebody who will strike out a lot of batters while issuing a lot of free passes—his 15.5% K% was the worst among the 50 starting pitchers in the NL with at least 160 innings pitched, while his 8.9% BB% is 13th from the bottom among starters with the same number of innings. That’s not a good combination and will lead to those subpar results.

Wednesday, April 1: Freddy Peralta vs. Matthew Liberatore, 1:15 PM EDT on SNY

Peralta (2026): 5.0 IP, 7 K, 0 BB, 2 HR, 7.20 ERA, 5.31 FIP, 199 ERA-

Peralta earned a win in his Mets’ debut, despite allowing four earned runs in five innings. His numbers are worse than his actual performance, as the two home runs he allowed (both to Brandon Lowe), were wind-aided, specifically the one he gave up in the first inning. The biggest positive is Peralta striking out seven while not issuing a walk. Peralta is no stranger to St. Louis, having faced them 20 times in his career, including 16 starts. He owns a 4.67 ERA with 91 strikeouts in 86 2/3 innings against them.

Liberatore (2026): 5.0 IP, 2 K, 2 BB, 1 HR, 1.80 ERA, 5.91 FIP, 49 ERA-

Liberatore earned the win on Opening Day for the Cardinals as they took on the Rays. He went five innings and allowed one earned run on seven hits while striking out two and walking two. He reached 78 pitches in the outing and threw 49 of them for strikes. Liberatore set career-bests for the Cardinals in 2025, making 29 starts and hurling 151 2/3 innings and striking out 122 while setting a career-high with eight wins to go along with a 1.0 bWAR.

*We will be adding a poll to this preview later today.