Mets Hold Off Cardinals in Ninth, 3-2

Lucas Duda hit a long home run and the New York Mets threw out the potential tying run at the plate in the ninth inning to hold off the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2 Wednesday night with a stiff wind whipping through Citi Field.

Jonathon Niese earned his first win of the season, and shortstop Ruben Tejada cut down Matt Carpenter for the second out of the ninth on a strong relay from center fielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis.

St. Louis manager Mike Matheny challenged the call, which was upheld following a replay review of 1 minute, 20 seconds that showed catcher Travis d'Arnaud nicked Carpenter with a sweep tag near his armpit.

Cardinals right-hander Michael Wacha set career highs with 10 strikeouts and five walks in the shortest of his 14 regular-season starts in the majors. A bizarre outing if ever there was one -- but it was that sort of night.

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