Yadier Molina and pinch-hitter Kolten Wong each stroked an RBI double in the ninth inning, and the St. Louis Cardinals ended Jeurys Familia's streak of 52 straight saves in rallying past the New York Mets 5-4 on Wednesday night.
Yoenis Cespedes hit a go-ahead homer off Adam Wainwright to cap a three-run comeback in the seventh that gave the Mets a 4-3 lead. But then Familia, who hadn't blown a regular-season save opportunity since July 30 last year, finally faltered.
Jedd Gyorko drew a one-out walk in the ninth and was replaced by pinch-runner Randal Grichuk. Molina hit the next pitch to deep center field, and Grichuk scored standing up to tie it.
Molina was thrown out at third by Familia (2-2) on pinch-hitter Jeremy Hazelbaker's comebacker, but Hazelbaker stole second and scored when Wong lined a double just inside the left-field line.
Familia's franchise-record saves streak was the third-longest in major league history behind Tom Gordon (54) and Eric Gagne (84).
Jonathan Broxton (3-2) tossed a scoreless eighth and Seung Hwan Oh got three quick outs for his sixth save.
Including a split of Tuesday's doubleheader, St. Louis took two of three from the Mets in a matchup of NL wild-card contenders. It was only the second time in the past decade that the Cardinals have won a road series against the Mets.
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Logan Verrett pitched seven efficient innings and slumping Neil Walker went 3 for 3 with a base on balls for the third-place Mets, who have alternated wins and losses in their last 13 games. They dropped 5 1/2 games behind NL East-leading Washington.
New York did manage to keep Gyorko and the rest of St. Louis' hitters in the ballpark after the Cardinals had homered in 17 consecutive games - their longest streak since a club-record run of 19 games in 2006.
Gyorko went deep in both ends of Tuesday's doubleheader, giving him seven homers in nine games.
Matt Holliday hit a two-run double off Verrett with two outs in the third, and Matt Adams followed with an RBI double that made it 3-1.
Wainwright, who entered 3-0 with a 0.93 ERA in July, nursed that lead until the seventh - repeatedly pitching out of trouble. He nearly did so again after striking out Curtis Granderson and Asdrubal Cabrera with runners at the corners.
But then Travis d'Arnaud scored on a wild pitch and Cespedes socked a two-run homer off the facing of the second deck in left-center on the 117th and final pitch from the 34-year-old Wainwright.
COMING ATTRACTION?
Because of Tuesday's doubleheader, St. Louis needs a fill-in starter Saturday night in Miami. But manager Mike Matheny would not say whether the team was leaning toward promoting RHP Alex Reyes to make his major league debut. The 21-year-old Reyes, one of baseball's premier prospects, was removed from his Triple-A outing after three innings Tuesday - perhaps to keep him available for Saturday. Left-handed reliever Tyler Lyons, who made 20 major league starts from 2013-15, also could be a candidate. "Any pitcher we have in the organization is an option," Matheny said. "We're not ruling out anything at this point."
SHORT STAY
Cardinals RHP Sam Tuivailala and Mets LHP Josh Smoker were sent back to the minors. Both relievers were called up to serve as their team's 26th man for the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Cardinals: 1B-OF Brandon Moss (sprained left ankle) is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment Thursday at Double-A Springfield, with All-Star INF Matt Carpenter (strained right oblique) not far behind. But neither has a defined timetable to return, Matheny said.
Mets: 3B Jose Reyes received an injection and treatment for the ribcage strain on his left side. He is likely to be sidelined until at least Friday, manager Terry Collins said, and Wilmer Flores will continue to fill in. Reyes clarified that he got hurt on a swing in his penultimate at-bat during the first game Tuesday.
UP NEXT
Cardinals: RHP Michael Wacha (5-7, 4.37 ERA) starts Thursday night in Miami against RHP Jose Fernandez (12-4, 2.54), who is 26-1 with a 1.47 ERA at Marlins Park.
Mets: RHP Jacob deGrom (6-5, 2.73 ERA) looks to rebound from his worst start of the season Thursday afternoon against Colorado LHP Tyler Anderson (3-3, 3.56) in the opener of a four-game series. The 2014 NL Rookie of the Year is 2-0 with a 1.27 ERA in three career starts against the Rockies, who have a tough turnaround after playing Wednesday night in Baltimore.
