ST. LOUIS — The biggest surprise might be it took so long for the Mets and Cardinals to rumble.

There was a false alarm the previous night, when Mets players trickled from the dugout then stopped. But on Wednesday, emotions weren’t so easily restrained.

After Yoan Lopez, in his Mets debut, fired an up-and-in pitch to Nolan Arenado in the eighth inning, the enraged Cardinals DH began jawing with the right-hander and pushed aside Tomas Nido, before starting to the mound.

Benches emptied. Pushing and shoving ensued, and Pete Alonso got jumped from behind by Cardinals first-base coach Stubby Clapp. When order was restored, Arenado and Clapp were ejected.

After the Mets’ 10-5 loss to the Cardinals at Busch Stadium, an enraged Alonso unleashed anger over Clapp’s actions, yelling to reporters: “That’s your f—king article title: ‘bitch-made,’ ” Alonso said.

That term, according to the urban dictionary, refers to a “coward.” Alonso continued his venom toward the Cardinals after returning from his postgame shower.

When told that Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol defended Clapp, saying the takedown was warranted, Alonso countered.

“If you want to hold me back, if you want to restrain me, go at me like a man,” Alonso said. “I totally understand because I am a big strong guy and obviously the manager wants to have protection for his team and his staff and I totally get it, and I am a big strong guy. They don’t know my temper and what I can do. If I wanted to put somebody in the hospital, I easily could, but I was just out there trying to protect my guys.”

Alonso, who was drilled in the head the previous night — one of five players who got hit by pitches in that game (three were Mets) — took issue with Arenado’s actions. Lopez’s up-and-in pitch occurred a half-inning after J.D. Davis was plunked in the left foot and forced to leave the game.

“What happened today didn’t even make sense, the [pitch to Arenado] wasn’t even close and it’s something that started for no reason — it wasn’t even close,” Alonso said. “I know it’s a five-run ballgame, but we’re trying to come back. To me the whole thing didn’t make sense.”

Lopez denied there was any intent on the pitch to Arenado other than to throw a strike.

“I went a little bit inside, but that is part of the game,” Lopez said. “That one kind of got away from me, but that is baseball.”

Buck Showalter wouldn’t directly answer the question of Arenado potentially overreacting, but noted that Alonso got hit in the head the previous night and went to first base.

The Mets have been hit by 19 pitches this season, which is the most in MLB. Alonso (twice) and Francisco Lindor have both been drilled above the neck and managed to avoid serious injury.

“I am not a pitcher, but I just can’t comprehend missing that badly,” Alonso said. “It’s not even close. I am 6-3, I am a tall guy and I know guys are getting incentivized to throw hard, throw up and all that, but I just don’t know how the misses are that bad.

“Big leaguers that are the best in the world at what they do shouldn’t be missing up above guys’ necks. No one should be throwing neck balls.”

On Tuesday, Chris Bassitt blamed the baseballs and put the onus on league officials, saying “MLB doesn’t give a damn” about the situation. Showalter and general manager Billy Eppler voiced concerns to MLB before Wednesday’s game.

MLB responded to Bassitt’s comments.

“MLB is always concerned about keeping hitters safe from dangerous pitches,” a league spokesman said in a text message. “We closely analyze trends in the game and have active conversations with the players and coaches to address concerns.

“Through April 26, league-wide statistics show hit-by-pitch rates and wild pitch rates are down relative to previous seasons. However, one Club [the Mets] has been hit more than twice as often as the league average in 2022, which is something we will continue to monitor.”