Mets Series Review: Wiggling through Wrigley
The New York Mets are at the All-Star Break in first-place, holding a two-and-a-half-game lead over the Braves. The Mets closed the first half by winning three of four against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. It is a series that the Mets should have swept, but a series in which the Mets could have lost three of four, as their offense vanished into the ivy, with a feeble performance that was only helped by how terrible the Cubs played. The Mets got terrific starting pitching over the weekend and hold a record of 58-35 as the All-Star Game has arrived.
Coming off their successful series in Atlanta, the Mets had Carlos Carrasco on the mound as they began a four-game set with the struggling Cubs. Carrasco was a double-stuff Oreo as he blanked the Cubs for six innings, allowing five hits with six strikeouts. The Mets scored early and often against Keegan Thompson, as Francisco Lindor had an RBI single in the first. The Mets added three runs on a double by Patrick Mazeika and a single by Starling Marte in the second. They added a fifth run on a single by Eduardo Escobar in the fifth.
The Mets used the long ball with home runs by Brandon Nimmo and Pete Alonso, who equaled the franchise record with 74 RBI before the All-Star break. In the seventh inning, Trevor Williams took the mound and earned the save by pitching the final three innings in an easy 8-0 win.
After rain postponed the game Friday, the Mets found themselves playing a day-night doubleheader on Saturday. The Mets had Taijuan Walker on the mound facing turncoat Marcus Stroman. With an eye on Max Scherzer in Game 2, Buck Showalter decided to put out the weakest lineup of the season, with Dom Smith, Travis Jankowski, and Tomas Nido providing an empty void at the bottom of the order. Stroman skated through the first three innings before Pete Alonso delivered an RBI double following a walk by Francisco Lindor. The Cubs, however, answered right away as Frank Schwindle tied the game with a hit through the shift that scored Nico Hoerner. Marcus Stroman left the game in the fifth due to being on a heavy pitch count; the Cubs' bullpen would frustrate the Mets all game as they combined to hold the Mets to three hits over the first nine innings. Taijuan Walker used to no run support, kept the Mets in the game, allowing one run on four hits in six innings.
The game would go into extra innings; after failing to score in the tenth, the Mets had Adam Ottavino on the mound for a second inning. Nelson Vasquez, the ghost runner, stole third as the Cubs appeared on the verge of a win. However, Ottavino struck out the next two batters before Christopher Morel hit a bullet to third base, which was snared by Eduardo Escobar, who made the throw that J.D. Davis dug out to keep the game tied. Davis had just entered the game at first base after Dom Smith turned his ankle in the top of the inning. The Mets would take the lead in the 11th on a sac-fly by Pete Alonso. From there, Edwin Diaz was lights-out again for his 20th save as the Mets won the game 2-0.
The Mets had Max Scherzer on the mound for the nightcap. He was opposed by Drew Smyly. Scherzer was not at his best as the Cubs scored in the second inning on a double by Yan Gomes. The Mets answered in the third and took the lead on a home run by Eduardo Escobar in the fourth. However, Gomes drove in another run in the fourth as Max Scherzer allowed two runs on eight hits in six and one-third innings, striking out 11 Cubs.
Once again, the Cubs bullpen tied up the Mets bats, as Anderson Espinosa, Scott Effross, and Steven Brault combined to one hit the Mets over the final four innings. The Mets got one and two-thirds perfect innings from Colin Holderman but went to the 27th man Yoan Lopez in the ninth. With high leverage games all week, Showalter was willing to sacrifice the game, not want to use Diaz twice on the same day.
In the tenth inning, the Mets got two runs as Pete Alonso was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Daniel Norris later threw an errant pickoff throw to allow a second run to score as the Mets bats remained feeble. Lopez came on for a second inning, with the Mets riding or dying on a pitcher who would return to Syracuse after the game was over. The Cubs quickly got one run and loaded the bases with one out when Lopez got Schwindle to bounce to third for a game-ending double play as the Mets won 3-2 to complete the doubleheader sweep.
Looking to sweep the four-game series, the Mets had David Peterson on the mound against Adrian Sampson. The Mets got a run in the first, as Starling Marte stole home while Francisco Lindor was caught in a run down with two outs. The Mets would also gift the Cubs a run in the fourth as Peterson walked Patrick Wisdom with the bases loaded. David Peterson again struggled with his command walking three as he allowed one run on three hits in five innings. Despite the struggles, he left the game with a 2-1 lead as Pete Alonso had an RBI bloop single in the fifth. Alonso ends the first half with 78 RBI to lead MLB, topping David Wright's first half record by four.
Leading 2-1, the Mets were shut down by Chicago's bullpen again. They had a chance to add to the lead, but Lindor was gunned down at home on a perfect throw by Nelson Velasquez. After two strong innings by Tommy Hunter, the Mets had Drew Smith on the mound in the eighth, looking to get the game to Edwin Diaz. However, Christopher Morel led off with an infield hit, starting a two-run rally as the Mets lost 3-2.