Mets 3, Cardinals 1 (18 innings)
ST. LOUIS -- The New York Mets spent all day Sunday wasting scoring chances, but they still escaped Busch Stadium with an absurd win.
Breaking a 1-1 tie with two runs in the top of the 18th inning, New York outlasted the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1.
Shortstop Ruben Tejada's sacrifice fly with the bases loaded and no outs scored second baseman Wilmer Flores with the tiebreaking run. Left fielder Eric Campbell squeezed home right fielder Curtis Granderson with an insurance run.
New York (48-44) went an unthinkable 1-for-26 with men in scoring position and stranded 25 runners, 17 in scoring position, in the 5-hour, 55-minute marathon.
Mets catcher Kevin Plawecki produced an RBI single in the top of the 13th that scored Granderson, who led off the inning with a double.
However, New York closer Jeurys Familia blew the save on his second pitch, yielding a solo homer to second baseman Kolten Wong that barely eluded the leaping Granderson just to the left of the foul pole.
Carlos Torres (3-4), the Mets' seventh pitcher, worked two scoreless innings to earn the win.
Cardinals All-Star starter Carlos Martinez (10-4) absorbed the loss after coming on in relief in the 15th. He was charged with two runs (one earned) in four innings. He was St. Louis' eighth pitcher.
It was just the 12th defeat in 45 home games for St. Louis (58-34).
Neither starter was involved in the decision.
New York's Jon Niese pitched 7 2/3 shutout innings, giving up just five hits with a walk and three strikeouts. St. Louis' Tim Cooney worked 5 2/3 scoreless innings, permitting three hits and walking four while fanning seven.
NOTES: St. Louis RF Jason Heyward (cramping) didn't start Sunday off after leaving the Saturday night game following his fifth hit in the eighth inning. He struck out as a 14th-inning pinch hitter Sunday. Heyward required an ice bath and two IV bags after the Saturday game. ... New York announced that its Aug. 2 home game with Washington would be moved from 1:10 p.m. ET to 8:08 p.m. to accommodate ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball" broadcast. ... The Cardinals also rested 3B Matt Carpenter. He grounded out as an eighth-inning pinch hitter, leaving him hitless in his past 17 at-bats. His average is down to .257.