Cardinals collapse in ninth inning

ST. LOUIS -- Tony La Russa was defiant. It was just one loss, nothing more.

The St. Louis Cardinals manager insisted his playoff-hopeful team wouldn't be crushed after blowing a four-run cushion in the ninth inning and watching the New York Mets rally for an 8-6 win Thursday.

"Don't make a mistake and say we're heartbroken," La Russa said. "Our heart's beating. We won the series. Get ready for tomorrow."

The loss dropped St. Louis two games behind idle Atlanta for the wild card, with both teams having six games left. The Cardinals lost for only the third time in 16 games.

Shortstop Rafael Furcal misplayed a potential double-play grounder at the start of the Mets' six-run burst, fueling the comeback with his fifth error in six games.

St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Jason Motte stands on the mound after walking New York Mets' Justin Turner with the bases loaded to score Willie Harris during the ninth inning of a baseball game on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2011, in St. Louis. The Mets scored six runs in the ninth inning and went on to win 8-6. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

"I think he probably tried to hurry it," La Russa said. "I think he's just trying to do too much. He does a lot, so it's hard to fault him."

The Cardinals were much looser earlier in the game. Corey Patterson put out a small fire in the dugout after players had given Shane Robinson a hot foot. Although some in the press box saw flames, La Russa hadn't been aware of the prank.

"There was no danger. We weren't going to let the guy's pants catch on fire," Patterson said. "I knew what was going on, but you've got to have two or three guys watching in case it gets out of hand."

The Cardinals walked three batters to help the Mets take the lead. Willie Harris drew a walk to begin the ninth inning and capped it with a tiebreaking, two-run single with two outs.

Harris, who played for the Braves in 2007, said Atlanta coach Terry Pendleton texted him, "Way to go."

It was the Mets' biggest ninth-inning comeback since they scored five to beat the Cubs 6-5 on May 17, 2007, in New York.

"When you go to work, you should go to work hard," Harris said. "I think today shows these guys in this locker room care about each other and we want to win."

The Mets, who had lost nine of their previous 11, came back against three St. Louis relievers.

"To come back against that team, that bullpen, in the ninth inning is huge," Mets manager Terry Collins said.

After Harris drew a leadoff walk, Nick Evans hit a routine grounder to Furcal. But Furcal, acquired in late July to boost the Cardinals' playoff push, fumbled the ball.

Jason Motte walked three of the five batters he faced, including pinch-hitter Justin Turner with the bases loaded. Marc Rzepczynski (0-3) allowed Jose Reyes' RBI single.

"I felt fine going out there," Motte said. "The ball was just kind of moving all over the place. One would sink, one would run, one would cut. I was doing everything I could. It just wasn't going really anywhere I wanted it to go."

Motte pitched for the third time in four games. He worked 1 1/3 innings while allowing a run to get the save in a 6-5 victory Wednesday night.

"He may be getting distracted by somebody thinking he's the closer," La Russa said. "He's not the closer. He's the closer a lot of times. He doesn't need to be distracted by that nonsense."

Robinson almost saved the Cardinals with a diving try in left field, but Ruben Tejada's drive glanced off the tip of his outstretched glove for a two-run double that made it 6-6. Fernando Salas, who was making his fifth appearance in seven games, gave up the hits to Tejada and Harris.

Salas said through an interpreter, fellow reliever Octavio Dotel, that fatigue was not a factor.

"Every one of those guys had a green light," La Russa said. "They all had a green light to pitch. We're trying to play our way into the playoffs, and this is when you push."

Albert Pujols and Allen Craig homered for the Cardinals. The game was delayed 2 hours, 19 minutes by rain before the first pitch.

Pujols reached base safely for the 38th straight game, breaking a tie with Andre Ethier for the longest streak in the league this season and leaving him one shy of matching Johnny Damon's major league-best. His NL-leading 37th homer left him two RBIs shy of 11 career 100-RBI seasons.

Craig has been filling in for injured Matt Holliday and putting up Holliday-style numbers. He's hit three homers, three doubles and seven RBIs in eight games. He hit a two-run homer off Chris Capuano in the first and also doubled.