Cardinals 12, Mets 2
ST. LOUIS -- Jason Heyward and the St. Louis Cardinals' offense broke out Saturday night with an all-out assault in the run column.
Heyward went 5-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs as St. Louis bombed New York Mets starter Bartolo Colon for the second time this year in a 12-2 rout at sold-out Busch Stadium.
Heyward finished his evening with a ground-ball single off reliever Alex Torres in the bottom of the eighth, accomplishing the second five-hit game of his career.
Just about everything went right for the Cardinals (58-33), who also got two hits and two runs from shortstop Jhonny Peralta.
Center fielder Randal Grichuk capped a 3-for-3, six-RBI performance with a three-run homer in the eighth -- his second long ball of the evening.
St. Louis broke a 12-game streak of not scoring in the first inning in a big way with four runs.
Peralta and Heyward produced RBI singles, while catcher Yadier Molina lined a ground-rule double down the left-field line.
Grichuk brought in the final run when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
In 37 games since scoring five first-inning runs against Milwaukee on June 3, the Cardinals had tallied only two runs in their opening at-bats.
Peralta and Heyward made it 5-0 in the fifth when they led off the inning with consecutive doubles to the left-center-field wall. First baseman Mark Reynolds knocked out Colon with an RBI single.
Colon (9-8), who gave up nine runs in a loss to the Cardinals two months ago, was tagged for eight hits and seven runs in 4 1/3 innings Saturday. He walked three and struck out five. Colon entered the night with only 11 walks in 105 innings.
Grichuk welcomed reliever Carlos Torres with his eighth home run of the season, a two-run shot into the St. Louis bullpen in right-center, for an 8-0 advantage.
Starter John Lackey (8-5) scattered 10 hits over seven innings for St. Louis, walking one and striking out three. The only hit of consequence off Lackey was a solo homer to lead off the sixth by left fielder Michael Cuddyer, and that came with New York down 8-0.
Shortstop Ruben Tejada added an RBI double in the eighth for the Mets (47-44), who fell to 15-30 on the road and trail first-place Washington by three games in the National League East.
NOTES: St. Louis RHP Jordan Walden (right biceps) threw a bullpen session on Saturday as he attempts to return from an injury that has sidelined him since April 30. Walden was 0-1 with a 0.87 ERA in 12 appearances before the injury. ... New York starting pitchers entered Saturday with baseball's highest first-strike percentage at 66. The league average is 61.4. ... Cardinals LHP Jaime Garcia (groin) also threw a bullpen session Saturday. The team hopes he can progress to throwing live batting practice on Thursday and possibly rejoin the rotation before the end of the month.