ST. LOUIS — There is not enough Budweiser in this city to make the Mets look pretty.
The lineup, starting rotation and bullpen are in shambles and the only potential help from below will be in New York today to have his sore right collarbone examined. But it will take more than even a healthy Zack Wheeler to sanitize this mess.
Dillon Gee gave the Mets almost no shot last night, with a dreadful performance that became a 10-4 loss to the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
The Mets (14-22) lost their fifth straight, but at least snapped a seven-game streak in which they scored three runs or fewer. Too bad the scoring didn’t occur until after the Cardinals had a 9-0 lead and were just looking to finish the game.
Gee (2-5) allowed six earned runs on nine hits with three walks over four innings. Robert Carson later surrendered a three-run homer to former Met Carlos Beltran that added to the misery.
Manager Terry Collins put Ruben Tejada on the bench, hoping Justin Turner’s hot bat might energize the team against lefty John Gast, but the Mets were quiet offensively until the sixth, when they scored four runs, highlighted by Marlon Byrd’s two-run homer.
Gee put the Mets in a 3-0 hole after a first inning in which the Cardinals sent eight batters to the plate. The tone for the game was set when Gee walked the leadoff hitter, Matt Carpenter.
In the third, the Cardinals got RBI singles from Pete Kozma, Carpenter and Beltran for a 6-0 lead.
It was Gee’s third brutal start in his last four. The right-hander has gone beyond six innings only once this season and has surrendered 30 hits in his last 20 frames.
The Mets will send Shaun Marcum to the mound tonight against Cardinals phenom Shelby Miller, who has a 1.58 ERA this season. Marcum has been a train wreck, going 0-3 with a 8.59 ERA after missing the first three weeks of the season with neck stiffness.
mpuma@nypost.com