The St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets are locked at two games apiece in the National League Championship Series with tonight’s game hinging on the weather.
If played, the rain and cold will be a factor, but will it chill the Mets’ hot bats.
Carlos Beltran blasted two homers and Carlos Delgado added another round-tripped to his impressive NLCS to lead the Mets to a 12-5 thumping of the Redbirds.
Jeff Weaver is scheduled to take on Tom Glavine in Game 5, with both pitchers returning to the mound after just three days rest.
After getting held scoreless for 14 innings through the second, the Mets came to life and set a team record for runs and homers in a postseason game, more than enough offense to back Oliver Perez, who was forced into the rotation because of injuries to Pedro Martinez and Orlando Hernandez. New York had 14 hits, one night after getting just three.
Delgado already has nine RBIs in the NLCS, tying the Mets’ postseason record for a series, set by Gary Carter in the World Series. Delgado already has set a team record with six extra-base hits, four of them homers – and all to the opposite field.
Beltran kept up his role as a Cardinal-killer: He batted .417 against St. Louis with four homers in the 2004 NLCS as a member of the Houston Astros. During the regular season, the Mets were 9-1 when Delgado and Beltran homered in the same game.