Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras suffered a horrifying broken arm when he was hit by a swing from JD Martinez during Tuesday's game against the New York Mets.

Contreras writhed around in agony after he was clipped by Martinez's bat. He was seen screaming as he climbed to his feet to run away from home plate.

It soon emerged that the three-time All-Star had suffered a broken left forearm, with replays showing the moment the bat struck near his wrist.

Contreras was eventually examined by St. Louis' athletic training staff, while Martinez was awarded first base due to catcher's interference. 

The Cardinals later confirmed that Contreras had suffered a left forearm fracture, with Ivan Herrera taking over behind the plate.

Contreras doubled and scored during St. Louis' three-run first inning. He is hitting .280 with six homers and 12 RBI.

Without him, Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo drove in three runs each as the visiting Mets rallied for a 7-5 victory over St. Louis.

Alonso, who was 1-for-29 in his previous nine games, had a two-run double and a homer. Nimmo hit a three-run homer.

Mets starting pitcher Jose Butto (1-2) allowed three runs on five hits and three walks in five innings. He struck out three. Adam Ottavino gave up a run in the ninth inning but still earned his first save.

The Cardinals jumped out to a 3-0 first-inning lead. Donovan led off with his fourth homer of the year before Nootbaar walked and Contreras smacked a double. Nolan Arenado hit a sacrifice fly and Burleson capped the outburst with an RBI single.

New York turned the game in the fifth inning with six-run outburst. Infield singles by Jeff McNeil and Tomas Nido set up the three-run homer from Nimmo, his fifth round-tripper of the season.

Starling Marte doubled, Francico Lindor singled, and Alonso knocked Mikolas out of the game with his two-run double. Facing Kyle Leahy, Martinez pushed an RBI single through the pulled-in infield to make it 6-3.

Burleson's sixth-inning homer, his third, cut St. Louis' deficit to two.

Alonso's ninth-inning homer, his ninth, made it 7-4. Nootbaar's blast cut the margin to 7-5 in the bottom of the inning. The Cardinals then got two on base before Ottavino struck out Paul Goldschmidt and Burleson to end the game.