ST. LOUIS — Daniel Vogelbach’s big moments have been few and far between this season, but he gave the Mets a winning streak-inducing jolt Saturday night.
Miles Mikolas threw a low fastball in the fifth inning and Vogelbach crushed it to right field for a grand slam that served as the highlight of the Mets’ 13-2 victory over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
The Mets (58-66), who are playing their best baseball since the All-Star break, extended their winning streak to four and won for the sixth time in seven games.
The last time the Mets showed such life was during a six-game winning streak to start July — their last gasp before the team was dismantled ahead of the trade deadline.
Vogelbach’s home run was his third in eight days after he hit only seven over the 4 ¹/₂ months to begin the season.
He is under club control for next season, but it would hardly be surprising if the Mets went in a different direction to provide more flexibility from designated hitter and the bench.
The Mets looked to trade Vogelbach at the deadline, but were underwhelmed by the offers.
The Mets’ second straight scoring outburst —they totaled seven runs on Friday — provided plenty of support for Kodai Senga, who allowed one earned run on two hits with five strikeouts and two walks over seven innings.
Francisco Lindor raced home from third on the front end of a double steal in the first inning to give the Mets their initial run.
On a swing and miss by Pete Alonso for the second out, Jeff McNeil broke for second while, on the throw, Lindor sprinted home.
McNeil’s second hit of the game, an RBI single in the third, extended the Mets’ lead to 2-0. Lindor doubled to start the rally after Brandon Nimmo had reached on an error and was thrown out attempting to steal second.
DJ Stewart’s third homer in four games put the Mets ahead, 3-0, in the fourth.
Stewart, who is receiving regular playing time in the outfield since the trade deadline and with Starling Marte on the injured list, had a two-homer game against the Pirates on Wednesday.
Nolan Arenado’s home run in the bottom of the inning pulled the Cardinals within 3-1.
Vogelbach then jumped on a 1-0 pitch from Mikolas in the fifth and cleared the right-field fence for his fourth career grand slam.
In the seventh, Alonso launched his 38th home run of the season, a 466-foot shot to left-center that gave the Mets a 9-1 lead.
Lindor’s fourth hit of the night, a single in the eighth, brought in three runs, two of which were unearned because of third baseman Taylor Motter’s throwing error.