Wacha tosses 3-hitter, Cardinals top error-prone Mets 5-0
Michael Wacha threw a three-hitter for his first career shutout, Matt Carpenter had four hits, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the New York Mets 5-0 Tuesday night.
Wacha (7-3) has won his last four starts. He struck out eight and walked one in his 99th career start.
The 26-year-old right-hander, who was ineffective last season, had not won four straight starts since the 2013 playoffs when he helped lead St. Louis to the World Series.
Wacha and the Cardinals capitalized on a shoddy Mets defense that let down starter Rafael Montero (1-6) with three errors. Montero allowed four runs, two earned, in six innings. New York has lost three straight and eight of 11.
The first of Carpenter's four hits was a first-inning double into the right field corner. He advanced to third on third baseman T.J. Rivera's throwing error and scored on Jedd Gyorko's sacrifice fly.
The Cardinals took advantage of two more errors during a three-run second inning.