NEW YORK • As a manager who sees the final result as the verdict on whether a game went well or sour, Mike Matheny could still peer past the Cardinals’ brightly lit zeroes on the scoreboard Thursday to see the numbers on the mound that meant more.
Not even a loss obscured what lefty Jaime Garcia could possibly add.
In his first major-league appearance in 11 months, Garcia pitched seven superb innings on 102 pitches and was done before the Cardinals faltered in a 5-0 loss to the New York Mets at Citi Field. Garcia pitched around five walks, allowed two runs, and gave the Cardinals, in his first game back since shoulder surgery, their finest fill-in start since Adam Wainwright’s season-ending foot injury.