At least on this night — though he hopes for many more — Max Scherzer looked like the future Hall of Famer whom the Mets made their $130 million man.

Scherzer saved his best start of the season and his longest as a Met for the defending world champs, silencing the Astros in an 11-1 laugher on Monday at Minute Maid Park that was well-timed for the star and his club.

The Mets (34-38) showed some hope to begin a six-game road trip that will go from Texas to Philadelphia. 

They have a pulse after winning just their fourth game in the past 15 and beating the Astros for the first time in their past eight  head-to-head matchups.

A pair of five-run frames helped. 

As did Francisco Lindor’s five RBIs. But the Mets have Scherzer — whose ERA fell from 4.45 to 4.04 — to thank most for the series-opening destruction.

Panera celebrates all things salad with the introduction of the new Southwest Caesar Salad with Chicken alongside the return of its signature Strawberry Poppyseed Salad.

The new Southwest Caesar Salad with Chicken features crisp romaine tossed in Caesar dressing, with a drizzle of chipotle aioli and the crunch of blue corn tortilla strips. Raised without antibiotics grilled chicken breast, chunks of fresh avocado, grated parmesan cheese, and cilantro top off the new dish.

In addition to the new Southwest Caesar Salad with Chicken, Panera is welcoming back the Strawberry Poppyseed Salad.

The Strawberry Poppyseed Salad features romaine lettuce, chicken raised without antibiotics, mandarin oranges, fresh strawberries, pineapple and blueberries, tossed with Panera’s poppyseed dressing and topped with roasted pecan pieces.

The game was certainly an emotional roller coaster. The Cardinals jumped out to an early lead thanks to Nolan Arenado’s two-run bomb in the first, but Matthew Liberatore had a clunker and couldn’t make those runs stand up.

Paul Goldschmidt drove in a pair with a double while Brendan Donovan brought one in with a single. Paul DeJong and Jordan Walker also provided some power. What was left of their early lead was washed away by former Cardinal Tommy Pham’s two-run shot against Chris Stratton.

From there, it was a battle of the bullpens. And in the ninth, the Mets bullpen blinked first when Arenado took another former Cardinal deep in Adam Ottavino.

Jordan Hicks made things a little interesting, but got a double play to secure an 8-7 win for the Birds and their first series victory since late May against the Dodgers.