Angel Pagan homered with one out in the 10th inning and the Mets rallied from an early four-run deficit to beat the sputtering Cardinals 6-5 Wednesday night.

Carlos Beltran hit a two-run homer and new father Josh Thole had two RBIs for the Mets, including a tying single off Jason Motte with two outs in the eighth.

Albert Pujols was not in the St. Louis starting lineup, rested against knuckleballer R.A. Dickey with a scorching day game on deck Thursday. But the Cardinals built a 4-0 lead for Kyle McClellan, who is 0-5 in eight starts since beating Houston on May 19.

Matt Holliday had three hits and two RBIs for St. Louis. Locked in a tight race near the top of the NL Central, the Cardinals have dropped four of five since the All-Star break.