Gee pitches 7 innings as Mets defeat Cardinals 3-2

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) Dillon Gee allowed singles to four of his first five batters, then settled in to pitch seven innings Sunday in the New York Mets' 3-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Matt Carpenter and Jason Heyward opened the first with singles, but left fielder Michael Cuddyer threw out Carpenter at third. Matt Holliday singled, and the Cardinals pulled off a double steal, and shortstop Ruben Tejada turned Matt Adams' liner into an unassisted double play.

Jhonny Peralta singled leading off the second, and Yadier Molina grounded into a 1-6-3 double play. Gee wound up allowing two runs and seven hits. Heyward hit an RBI triple in the third and scored on Holliday's sacrifice fly.

''I definitely started executing a lot better as the game went on,'' Gee said. ''Early, I had trouble finding everything. Luckily, today I think the cutter allowed me to stay in the game long enough to figure it out.''

Lucas Duda had three hits, and Curtis Granderson had two hits and a walk.

Cardinals starter Marco Gonzales, pitching because Jaime Garcia's shoulder is ailing, gave up one run, three hits and three walks in 4 2-3 innings.

Gonzales could start the season in the rotation, in the bullpen or in the rotation of Triple-A Memphis.

''I think those are three viable options,'' Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said.

STARTING TIME

Mets: Collins wasn't ready to say Gee will be in his starting rotation. ''We're going to wait a while,'' Collins said. ''We've got (Rafael Montero) tomorrow so we are excited to see that and we'll make a decision as we go.''

Cardinals: Sunday's start was the final in the Grapefruit League for Gonzales but he'll likely get the ball on Friday when the Cardinals play an exhibition game at Memphis.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Mets: Closer Bobby Parnell, returning from Tommy John surgery last April, threw 16 pitches in a minor league game and is on pace to make his 2015 debut in May. Second baseman Daniel Murphy took at-bats in a minor league game again on Sunday but can't run because of a sore hamstring.

Cardinals: Garcia is expected to meet with team doctors in the coming days. The club doesn't have a time table for Garcia's return to the mound.

SITUATIONAL PLAY

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny will try to use his bench players as frequently as possible in situations they'll encounter in the regular season during the final week of spring training. That will mean bringing left-handed reliever Randy Choate into games to face left-handed hitters. Choate allowed a double to Granderson and, following an intentional walk, an RBI single to Duda.

NO CONCERN FOR WONG

Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong, who is hitting .147, was given a day off. ''He's doing a lot of little things right,'' Matheny said. ''He's not had a lot of results.''

CARDS MOVES

St. Louis optioned catcher Ed Easley, infielder Dean Anna and Xavier Scruggs to Memphis. The Cardinals also reassigned infielder Jacob Wilson to minor league camp.

UP NEXT

Michael Wacha is to make his final spring training start Monday against Washington and Taylor Jordan. The Mets play Miami and Dan Haren.