NEW YORK -- Jason Vargas left Sunday's 4-3 loss to the Cardinals while batting in the fourth inning due to a left calf cramp.

At a time when the Mets could ill afford to lose another starting pitcher to injury -- Noah Syndergaard was placed on the injured list earlier Sunday after straining his right hamstring Saturday night -- they might have avoided the worst with Vargas.

Both Vargas and manager Mickey Callaway said after the game that they expect Vargas to make his next start.

"It sounds like it was just cramps. He should be fine," Callaway said. "We got him situated inside, got some fluids in him, and he seemed to be doing fine."

Vargas said his calf started cramping when he was pitching to Harrison Bader in the top of the fourth. Then his hamstring cramped badly while he was batting.

"I just couldn't get rid of it and continued to keep cramping," Vargas said. "But it seemed to go away [after getting treatment]."

Vargas came out of the game after fouling off a Dakota Hudson changeup. He quickly stepped away from the batter's box and started trying to stretch in front of the Mets’ dugout. After Vargas held a quick conference with Callaway and the Mets’ training staff, Callaway signaled that he was taking Vargas out of the game.

Vargas said that though he had previously experienced cramping sensations during games, he'd never felt something to the degree he did Sunday -- where he couldn't shake the cramping -- and especially not during a swing.

Vargas was replaced by Jacob deGrom as a pinch-hitter, and Wilmer Font entered the game to pitch the next inning.

The left-hander finished with four innings pitched and three runs allowed, two of them earned. He struck out four and allowed just one hit, a two-run homer by Paul Goldschmidt, but Vargas also walked three.

Vargas has been an important part of the Mets' rotation this season. The 36-year-old has a 3.74 ERA after Sunday's abbreviated start, the second-lowest among the team's starters after deGrom (3.38).