NEW YORK _ With a one-run lead and another game to go Tuesday at Citi Field, the Cardinals' under-construction bullpen had to be both effective and efficient.
"The zeroes are impressive," manager Mike Matheny said. "I don't care how many pitches it takes to get them."
The Cardinals' relievers combined to put up four zeroes _ two of them from lefty Tyler Lyons _ and hold on for a 3-2 victory in the first game of a doubleheader against the Mets. Jedd Gyorko provided most of the offense with his two-run home run in the third inning, and the bullpen provided all of the finish. With help from center fielder Tommy Pham, Seung Hwan Oh pitched a scoreless ninth to secure his fifth save.
The win allowed the Cardinals to vault ahead of the Mets in the wild-card race. The Cardinals arrived in Queens a { game behind the hosts.
Carlos Martinez got the victory to become the Cardinals' first 10-game winner.
The right-hander pitched five innings and allowed two runs _ all on a homer _ to the Mets. He struck out three and complicated his game with four walks.
"I feel happy and satisfied with my outing today," Martinez said, through a translator. "Now we have the advantage and I'm trusting in my team that we'll take it all."
All it took was an unusual double play to allow Oh to speed through the ninth inning. A leadoff single by Curtis Granderson was erased when Yoenis Cespedes flied out to center field, and Tommy Pham threw out Granderson at second base attempting to advance.
