St. Louis Cardinals probable pitchers & starting lineups vs. Mets, April 26th

The St. Louis Cardinals (11-14) enjoyed an off-day after securing a series victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday, and now begin a road trip against the New York Mets (13-11).

While the offense continues to be the main topic of concern for this Cardinals team, they were able to pull out two wins against the reigning National League Champion Arizona Diamondbacks, even handing former Cardinal Jordan Montgomery a loss on Wednesday to secure the series (and the Cardinals first series finale win of the year). The Cardinals' bullpen continues to shine for the club, while the rotation, in most games, has done enough to give the Cardinals a chance to win.

If the Cardinals are able to string together another series victory this weekend against New York, they'll inch even closer to .500 baseball in what appears to be a very competitive National League Central race. The Mets are coming off a disaster of a season themselves, and while most people aren't picking them to make the playoffs this year, they have been competitive thus far.

Probable starting pitchers

• Miles Mikolas (1-3, 6.49 ERA) toes the rubber for the Cardinals on Friday night, and as you can see, his season numbers are far from pretty up until this point. This early into the season, ERA numbers do not tell the full story of a player's performance. The majority of his starts have not been good so far, but Mikolas has had good outings against playoff-caliber teams like the Padres and Phillies. If that Mikolas shows up on Friday, the Cardinals are in good shape, but if the Mikolas that pitched against Dodgers, Brewers, and to a lesser extent, the Diamondbacks shows up on the mound, the offense will need to put up a lot of runs to win this game.
• Jose Butto (0-0, 1.65 ERA) gets his fourth start of the year on Friday against the Cardinals and has looked really good in his three outings thus far. A deeper dive into the box score may indicate some regression could be coming though, as Butto has walked 9 batters in just 16.1 innings of work this year, and his two best outings came against the Tigers and the Royals. While Butto only gave up two runs against the Dodgers, that came in just 4.1 innings while surrendering three hits and five walks. If the Cardinals lineup can remain patient at the plate, take their walks when. he gives it to them, and do damage when he's pressing and in need of strikes, they could find success this evening.

St. Louis Cardinals starting lineup, April 26th

1. LF Brendan Donovan
2. C Willson Contreras
3. RF Lars Nootbaar
4. 3B Nolan Arenado
5. 1B Paul Goldschmidt
6. DH Alec Burleson
7. 2B Nolan Gorman
8. SS Brandon Crawford
9. CF Michael Siani

New York Mets starting lineup, April 26th

1. LF Brandon Nimmo
2. RF Starling Marte
3. SS Francisco Lindor
4. 1B Pete Alonso
5. DH J.D. Martinez
6. 2B Jeff McNeil
7. CF Harrison Bader
8. 3B Brett Baty
9. C Tomas Nido

What channel is the St. Louis Cardinals game on today?

• Game time: 6:45 p.m. CT
• The Cardinals and Mets game will not be on local television networks on Friday as they are the featured game for Apple TV+ Friday Night Baseball.

How do I stream the St. Louis Cardinals game today?

Apple TV+ is the spot to stream tonight's matchup between the Cardinals and the Mets.

How can I listen to the St. Louis Cardinals game today?

• The Cardinals radio broadcast will be on KMOX 1120 AM/98.7 FM and the Cardinals Radio Network
• Mets fans who would like to listen to their team's radio broadcast can do so on WCBS 880 or WINS 92.3 FM HD2