Mets hurt by baserunning mistake, lose to Cards

Torres lost an apparent leadoff double in the ninth inning when he was ruled out for missing first base, and the St. Louis Cardinals held off the Mets 5-4 Monday.

"I've never seen it called. Not in the big leagues like that," Mets manager Terry Collins said.

Cardinals closer Jason Motte tied a career high by getting a five-out save. The wild card-contending Cardinals' position improved when first base umpire Dave Rackley said Torres missed the bag and called him out on an appeal.

"He went over the front corner with his toe and it just kicked dirt up onto the base," Rackley said.

Rackley said he wouldn't make that call if he weren't sure.

"That's what I told Terry. I wouldn't make that up," Rackley said.

Crew chief Dale Scott said the umpires watched televised replays afterward and agreed the call was correct.

"It was exactly what (Rackley) described. His foot went over, the toes hit the ground, the heel never did," Scott said. "And did you see where (Rackley) was? He was right there to make the call."

Torres was standing on second after hitting a ball down the right-field line.

"I just touched the base with my heel," he said. "I never thought he was going to call me out, to be honest. What can I say? Nobody's perfect."

Collins came out to argue the play, to no avail.

"I get back to the bench, and I got 10 guys telling me he touched the bag," Collins said.

Cardinals star Carlos Beltran, who was on the bench, told manager Mike Matheny to make the appeal.

"We're saying our MVP is Carlos Beltran, who never hit the field," Matheny said.

Said Beltran: "I was in the cage and watching him running. He was looking at the ball and not the bag. I saw sand coming up around the bag area and told them let's try to throw to first."

Rookie Joe Kelly (5-6) pitched 6 2-3 effective innings and also doubled for the Cardinals.

Kelly allowed five hits and two runs. He made his second start after a brief stint in the bullpen, and turned in his longest outing of the season.