Venue: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri (a pitcher-friendly ballpark with deep fences and consistent early-season conditions that often suppress power but rewards contact and defense in afternoon games).
First pitch is scheduled for 1:15 p.m. ET (12:15 p.m. CT / 10:15 a.m. PT). The game will be broadcast on Cardinals.TV (regional) and SNY (Mets territory), with national streaming on MLB.TV.
Weather Updates: Game-time conditions at Busch Stadium are forecast to be around 60–65°F with mostly cloudy skies, humidity in the 60–70% range, light winds, and a high chance of scattered showers or isolated storms (potential for brief delays, especially early afternoon). Wet weather could play in late innings, favoring ground-ball pitchers and suppressing offense slightly; roof is not an option here, so any rain would impact play.
Injury Report:
St. Louis Cardinals: SP Hunter Dobbins (15-day IL, knee), RP Matt Pushard (15-day IL, knee/tendinitis), OF Lars Nootbaar (60-day IL, heels). Bullpen and rotation depth are impacted, but the lineup is otherwise healthy.
New York Mets: RP A.J. Minter (15-day IL, lat surgery recovery), SP Reed Garrett (60-day IL, elbow), SP Tylor Megill (60-day IL, elbow), RP Dedniel Nunez (60-day IL, elbow), RP Justin Hagenman (60-day IL, rib fracture). Multiple long-term pitching absences stretch the bullpen; some positional depth pieces are day-to-day.
Key Player Matchups (Probable Pitchers & Key Hitters):
Mets: Freddy Peralta (RHP, 1-0, 7.20 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 7 K through 5.0 IP in 2026) – High-upside strikeout artist with swing-and-miss stuff but early-season command issues.
Cardinals: Matthew Liberatore (LHP, 0-0, 1.80 ERA, 1.80 WHIP, 2 K through limited early innings) – Command-oriented lefty who has looked sharp in his first outing(s), inducing weak contact.
Key Batter vs. Pitcher Notes: Mets stars like Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor (if active), and Pete Alonso will test Liberatore’s ability to handle righty power. Cardinals’ Alec Burleson, Nolan Arenado, and the top of the order look to exploit any elevated pitch counts from Peralta. Lineups feature standard early-season alignments with injury-forced depth (e.g., Cardinals thinner in bullpen; Mets relying on young arms).
Recent Team Forms:
Mets: Solid 3-2 start with explosive offense in spots (averaging 5+ runs/game early) but shut out in Game 2. Pitching has been inconsistent outside of aces; road form is competitive but the bullpen is stretched.
Cardinals: Balanced 3-2 record with strong home pitching (sub-3.00 team ERA in recent games) and timely hitting. They’ve won convincingly at Busch Stadium and are riding momentum after the Game 2 shutout.
Series History: The 2026 season series is tied 1-1 entering today. All-time, the Mets hold a slight edge in recent matchups against the Cardinals, but St. Louis has been strong at home in Busch Stadium (especially in low-scoring affairs). Early-season interleague play here often features competitive games with pitching dictating outcomes.
Game Odds
New York Mets – 168
St. Louis Cardinals 7.5
Odds Courtesy of Sports Odds Direct as of Tuesday, March 31, 2026
