Homers push Mets past Cubs |
CHICAGO — There was a point in time when the Chicago Cubs (37-41) were viewed as serious playoff contenders after getting off to a 17-9 start to their season. Whether it be the injuries, the overall sloppy fundamentals, or the horrendous offensive showing that this team put together for six weeks, this team is no longer a team that most consider a playoff team.
The New York Mets (37-39) are the exact opposite of the Cubs, as they appear to be peaking at a very good time. After their slow start to the season, the Mets responded with the best offense in baseball for the month of June, which has helped them race out to a 13-6 record, which is also an MLB best for June. They continued to flex their muscles at Wrigley Field on Sunday, using a trio of homers to do most of their damage. They took the season series from the Cubs 5-2. For the most part, Javier Assad has been one of the Cubs most consistent starters this season, but he has been struggling over his past seven starts. Despite limiting the damage more often than not, Assad has had to deal with several high-pitch count games, which frequently result in shorter outings than his team would like. You saw that again in this one as Assad labored through just 4 1/3 innings, allowing four runs as his ERA rose to 3.04. “You're going to have good and bad days,” Assad said after the game. “Not every day is going to be pretty, but you turn the page and then you just keep focusing on the next one.” Most of the damage off Assad came in the third inning, and it came after he had worked into and out of a massive jam in the second. With Harrison Bader delivering a one-out double, the long ball got the Mets rolling as Francisco Lindor took Assad deep for the two-run shot to put the Mets in front 2-0. A few pitches later, the same result as Brandon Nimmo answered that homer with one of his own as the Mets went back-to-back to take a 3-0 lead. That would be all Luis Severino would need as the Mets right-hander was locked in from the start. Severino is known for having plenty of success against the Cubs, recording his last 10-strikeout game against them in 2022 before dominating them through seven innings earlier this season. His domination of the Cubs continued in this one as he scattered just three hits across six shutout innings while also striking out 10. He was so dominant, that the Cubs had little to no scoring chances throughout the game, as they couldn't get anything rolling offensively. Still leading 3-0 in the fifth, the Mets were looking for the knockout blow as another Bader double was followed by a hit by pitch and a walk as the Mets loaded the bases with one out. He was lifted in favor of Keegan Thompson after that walk, who managed to induce a pair of groundouts to end the inning, although the JD Martinez grounder brought home another run to extend the lead to 4-0. One inning later saw Thompson pitch into a jam by putting the first two on base only to work out of trouble with a massive double play to keep things close. The best scoring chance of the night against Severino came in his final inning of work, with Miguel Amaya starting things off with a single before a hit-by a pitch to Nico Hoerner put the first two on with no outs. Following a Michael Busch strikeout, Cody Bellinger put together an incredible at-bat, seeing 12 pitches only to have it end with a strikeout. Severino was fired up after getting through another inning without damage. The Cubs continued to flirt with danger in the seventh, as a pair of walks and a catcher's interference loaded the bases again, but this time, Tyson Miller was escaping and keeping the Cubs' hopes alive a bit longer. Needing an offensive jolt in a hurry, the Cubs got the jolt they were looking for in the seventh as Ian Happ started things off with a sharp single off Dedniel Nunez. A few pitches later saw Christopher Morel unload for his second homer in as many days and his team-leading 15th blast of the season as the Cubs cut the Mets lead in half 4-2. Christopher Morel hits his 15th home run of the season! pic.twitter.com/R1qrO9tR1p “Whenever you're having a season like Christopher,” Counsell said, “you're looking for, ‘When is it going to kind of change for the guy?’ You need some good days. Obviously, you need some balls to go over the fence and you need some balls to fall in. … We've got to have him string some together.” Unfortunately for the Cubs, those would be the final runs of the game for the offense as Mark Vientos added a long homer off Miller in the eighth to close out the scoring, with the Mets picking up the 5-2 win. The Cubs will now head out West for their next seven as they kick off a four-game set with the San Francisco Giants on Monday. They follow that up with a trip to Milwaukee beginning on Friday, as this could be their last hope to stay buyers instead of sellers at the deadline. “We didn’t certainly gain any ground here and do anything to get us moving forward … it’s going to take better than 4-5.” "As soon as the team gets down early ... it feels like it's 10-0. It feels like the fight is gone."@CliffFloyd30 on the Cubs' loss tonight against the Mets. pic.twitter.com/LRKMSbAUdB "The flooding in of posts on Instagram and the comments and the letters ... that was awesome and still is today." There is no one more deserving than Ryno! pic.twitter.com/wlCeBAoUsZ "My life changed a lot in 1984, but that's nothing compared to what had happened six months ago. My thoughts today are instead about love, life, family and friends." The 2024 Cubs look on during Ryne Sandberg's statue unveiling 👏 pic.twitter.com/WS9tUe4W4z Earlier today, the @Cubs honored Ryne Sandberg with a statue outside of Wrigley Field.
Craig Counsell on the Cubs’ 9-game homestead. pic.twitter.com/8CX3u2uyj1
Ryne Sandberg feels the love from @Cubs fans 💙 pic.twitter.com/hpxdT2XRcY
Ryne Sandberg during his statue unveiling pic.twitter.com/zVasCRH1Gc
On Baseball Tonight, @JesseRogersESPN looked back on "The Sandberg game" and his Hall of Fame career. pic.twitter.com/dYqCCOklIu
