Cardinals 5

Mets 0

ST. LOUIS – Steve Trachsel pitched last night, and Oliver Perez is pitching tonight. The Mets are now in real danger.

The Mets had a nightmare game in St. Louis last night, as Murphy’s Law was realized and they were blasted by the Cardinals in Game 3 of the NLCS at Busch Stadium, a miserable 5-0 defeat.

The Mets’ season isn’t on the verge of ending just yet. But they’re down 2-1 in the NLCS with the risky Perez pitching a critical Game 4 tonight against righty Anthony Reyes. It’s one of the ugliest scenarios you could have.

“We feel like we’re in pretty good shape, even though we’re down 2-1,” manager Willie Randolph insisted. “Things could change real, real quick, so we’ll get some rest tonight and guarantee you we’ll be ready to play tomorrow.”

Said Carlos Delgado, “We’ve just got to go out and win. Is a sense of urgency going to make us play better?”

Something should. Last night, Trachsel authored a horrible outing that didn’t provide the Mets with either innings or a positive performance. In what may have been his final start as a Met, the free-agent-to-be was roasted for five runs on five hits and five walks in just one-plus inning.

Trachsel faced 12 hitters, and a remarkable 10 reached, with one getting picked off. He also suffered a right thigh contusion when he was drilled with a Preston Wilson shot in the second inning. Trachsel left after the next hitter walked, though it probably was performance-related and not thigh-related.

Trachsel said the problem was his bases on balls. But he insisted, “It’s not like I was missing wildly. I was trying to be too fine too early.”

As for Trachsel’s thigh, Randolph said, “He had a little swelling and we’ll keep it iced overnight and see how he feels tomorrow. He seems OK.”

With Trachsel not going deep into the game, the Met bullpen had to toss seven innings, with Darren Oliver taking care of six of those, all scoreless, in a valuable effort that allows Aaron Heilman, Guillermo Mota, Chad Bradford, Pedro Feliciano and Billy Wagner to be used tonight in relief of Perez.

Perez hasn’t been in the playoffs and probably shouldn’t be now. The Mets have Tom Glavine set to go on three days rest in Game 5 tomorrow, but right now their spirit in St. Louis has to be low.

“There’s no pressure,” Perez said of his start. “It’s going to be another game.”

With one out in the first, Trachsel – who had poor command, throwing just 21 of his 43 pitches for strikes – walked Wilson, gave up Albert Pujols’ single and later served up Scott Spiezio’s two-run triple that Shawn Green couldn’t grab with a diving attempt.

In the second, Trachsel gave up a leadoff homer to opposing pitcher Jeff Suppan – a humiliating habit of Trachsel’s. The only other homer Suppan had hit in the majors was off Trachsel last September.

Trachsel then walked David Eckstein, gave up Wilson’s smack off his right leg and walked Pujols to load the bases before he left.

“It’s not over,” said Pujols, who doesn’t have an RBI in the series yet, making the Mets’ 2-1 deficit remarkable. “We need to win two more games.”

The Mets got shut out in their final three innings in Game 2 and were blanked last night by Suppan, who hurled eight innings.

Said Green: “With only three hits, it’s hard to get anything going.”