NEW YORK -- After a big night back home, Harrison Bader was munching happily on his postgame meal when it was time to field a few questions.
"New York-style pizza is delicious," he said. "New York-style bagels, New York-style pizza, is just good for the soul."
Bader and the streaking Cardinals are starting to taste another trip to the postseason.
Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado each hit one of St. Louis' four home runs, and the Cardinals flashed some fantastic outfield defense in beating the New York Mets 11-4 on Wednesday for their fifth consecutive victory.
Bader homered, drove in three runs and made a timely grab at the center-field fence in his New York homecoming to help Jon Lester improve to 9-1 against the Mets. Edmundo Sosa also went deep and Goldschmidt had three hits for the Cardinals, who totaled 25 runs in a three-game sweep.
"Pretty fun series," Lester said. "The defense is unreal."
St. Louis, which jumped into playoff position Tuesday night for the first time since May 30, has won seven of eight to move 1 1/2 games ahead of the Reds for the second NL wild card following Cincinnati's 5-4 loss at last-place Pittsburgh.
"We're going to have a lot of fun down the stretch," Bader said. "Looking forward to seeing where it ends up."
Pete Alonso and Kevin Pillar homered for the skidding Mets, who appear finished in the pennant race with 15 games to go. They dropped five games behind St. Louis, with three teams in between.
"We've got to get real hot," said Jeff McNeil, who was a home run short of the cycle. "We're fighting for our lives now."
Lester (6-6) allowed three runs -- two earned -- and six hits in six innings. The 37-year-old lefty struck out seven and walked none, boosting his record to 3-1 in nine outings for St. Louis since his July 30 trade from Washington.
"I thought he was fantastic. Gave us everything he had," Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said. "A real pro. He got by on stuff and he got by on guts."
ROCKIES 3, BRAVES 2 (10) Raimel Tapia hit a tiebreaking single off A.J. Minter in the 10th inning, scoring Colton Welker from third base and lifting Colorado over Atlanta.
PIRATES 5, REDS 4 Wilmer Difo scored on a groundout from Colin Moran with one out in the ninth inning, and Pittsburgh handed Cincinnati its seventh loss in nine games.
PHILLIES 6, CUBS 5 Andrew Knapp scored on a passed ball in the ninth inning to bolster Philadelphia's tenuous playoff push with a win over Chicago.
MARLINS 8, NATIONALS 6 Jesus Sanchez's second two-run home run of the day capped a four-run ninth inning and Miami rallied past Washington.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
BLUE JAYS 6, RAYS 3 Bo Bichette homered and drove in five runs, Robbie Ray fanned 13 over seven innings to claim the major league strikeout lead and Toronto beat Tampa Bay.
RED SOX 9, MARINERS 4 (10) Kyle Schwarber and Christian Vazquez drove in two runs apiece in the 10th inning, and Boston beat Seattle to keep pace in the AL wild-card race.
YANKEES 4, ORIOLES 3 Brett Gardner blooped a two-run single in the ninth inning that was set up by a double steal, and New York beat Baltimore for its third consecutive win.
ASTROS 7, RANGERS 2 Jake Meyers and Marwin Gonzalez hit consecutive home runs in a three-run second inning, Kyle Tucker homered among his three hits, and Jose Urquidy allowed one run and two hits in six innings as Houston beat Texas.
INDIANS 12, TWINS 3 Cal Quantrill turned in a strong start, and Oscar Mercado, Bobby Bradley and Franmil Reyes homered to help Cleveland rout Minnesota.
ANGELS 3, WHITE SOX 2 Brandon Marsh hit a tiebreaking home run off Michael Kopech in the eighth inning, and Los Angeles beat Chicago.
INTERLEAGUE
TIGERS 4, BREWERS 1 Dustin Garneau homered and drove in two runs, rookie Matt Manning combined with the bullpen on a three-hitter and Detroit beat Milwaukee to complete a two-game sweep.
Wednesday’s games
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Miami 8, Washington 6
Pittsburgh 5, Cincinnati 4
Philadelphia 6, Chicago Cubs 3
St. Louis 11, NY Mets 4
Colorado 3, Atlanta 2 (10)
San Diego at San Francisco, (n)
Arizona at LA Dodgers, (n)
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Toronto 6, Tampa Bay 3
Boston 9, Seattle 4 (10)
NY Yankees 4, Baltimore 3
Cleveland 12, Minnesota 3
Houston 7, Texas 2
LA Angels 3, Chicago White Sox 2
Oakland 12, Kansas City 10
INTERLEAGUE
Detroit 4, Milwaukee 1