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Gray’s troublesome fifth inning against New York’s stars led to his exit after 4 1/3 innings completed on 96 pitches. His removal came in the midst four-run frame during which the Cardinals had a second one-run lead slip away from them a 9-3 loss to open a three-game series.

Having allowed two runs through four innings before beginning the fifth inning, Gray was charged with six runs (four earned) as the Mets totaled nine hits and drew three walks against the Cardinals’ ace. Gray left the game with runners on first and third base following a double to Juan Soto, a two-run homer to Pete Alonso that put the Cardinals behind 4-3. Singles by Brandon Nimmo and Jesse Winker followed before Gray exited.

One of the two runners Gray left on base for reliever Chris Roycroft scored following an error from first baseman Willson Contreras that extended the inning on what would have been an inning-ending double play on a groundball from Mark Vientos.

The Mets added to their lead with solo home runs off relievers John King and Roddery Munoz. New York tacked on an additional run in the ninth inning against Ryan Helsley.

The Cardinals (14-19) took a one-run lead in the first inning, which was led off by a double from Lars Nootbaar. Nootbaar, who stole third base without a throw after making an early break for the bag, scored on a single from Masyn Winn. When they fell behind 2-1, the Cardinals regained their lead with two runs in the third inning on run production through Victor Scott II’s speed and three singles that were bookended by an RBI from Willson Contreras.

A scoring opportunity in the eighth inning slipped away from the Cardinals. A hustle double from Winn and a walk from Brendan Donovan gave the Cardinals runners on first and second with no outs in the inning, and the heart of their order due up.

The threat was quieted when Arenado grounded into a double play. A groundout from Contreras ended it.

The loss was the Cardinals’ fifth this season to the Mets.

Contreras’s error prolongs inning

Called in from the bullpen with runners on first and second base with one out in the inning on the same day he was called up from Class AAA Memphis, Roycroft got the potential double play ball he needed to escape the jam when Vientos grounded a sinker to second base. The Cardinals recorded the force out at second base but couldn’t complete the inning-ending double play as Contreras could not squeeze Winn’s throw to first base.

After the ball popped out of Contreras’s first baseman’s mitt and rolled onto the infield grass, Nimmo, who advanced to third base as the play developed, beat Contreras’s throw to home to push New York’s lead to 5-3.

With the inning extended by Contreras’s error on the routine play, the Mets tacked on their sixth run through a pair of singles — one from Jeff McNeil and another from Francisco Alvarez — that plated Nimmo.

Roycroft ended the inning with a forceout on a grounder from Luisangel Acuna. In his first MLB outing since the second week of April, Roycroft flashed a 2.7 mph increase on his average sinker, per Statcast.

Gray’s laborious inning

Working with a one-run lead after his nine-pitch first inning, Gray’s command issues led him to a 33-pitch second frame in which two runs scored on groundouts that couldn’t be turned into double plays. In the frame, Gray issued two walks and allowed two hits, the first of which was a soft-hit single from Winker on a fly ball that dropped just a few feet within the left field foul line.

Even after he secured the two outs as the Mets took a 2-1 lead, Gray’s inability to find the strike zone resulted in two walks that put Soto in a position to bat with the bases loaded. Facing the Mets’ star right fielder, Gray got ahead in the count 0-2 by offering Soto a changeup and curveball to begin the at-bat. After a sweeper bounced in the dirt to make it a 1-2 count, Gray caught Soto looking on a sinker thrown inside to the lefty that clipped the corner of the strike zone.

Scott’s speed provides spark

While pushing his perfect start on steal attempts to 11 for 11, Scott’s leadoff single and speed that prevented the Mets from trying to turn a double play jump-started a two-run inning by the Cardinals.

The speedster began the third inning with a single to left field. He advanced to second base when Lars Nootbaar grounded out to second baseman Luisangel Acuna. The combination of Scott’s jump and his speed left Acuna with his only option to take the out at first base. With Scott in scoring position, the speedster swiped third base off Alvarez and advanced to home when Alvarez’s throw sailed into left field.

Behind Scott, Winn collected his second single of the ballgame and came around to score as he moved to third base on a single from Donovan and crossed home plate on a single from Contreras.