Mets Bats Go Quiet in Finale, Lose 2-0 To Cubs

The Mets entered Thursday’s game looking to finish off a four-game sweep of the Cubs after dominating them in the first three games of the series.

Instead, they were absolutely shut down by elite Chicago pitching, as they mustered only two hits and didn’t score a single run, losing by a score of 2-0.

Marcus Stroman went seven innings and only allowed two runs, tying his season-high in strikeouts with eight. Mets relievers went two hitless innings, allowing just one baserunner via the walk. The Cubs’ bats only tallied four hits, and most of those came early, including the biggest one of the game.

That hit came off the bat of Javier Baez, who had no interest in waiting to begin the scoring. After taking a huge hack at the first pitch of his at-bat, he connected on a hanging slider and smacked a moonshot to dead-center field for a two-run home run.

Stroman recovered quickly, however, and retired the rest of his opponents without problem. Despite surrendering two runs in the opening frame, he threw just 10 pitches.

Jonathan Villar led off the game for the Mets, facing off against RHP Kyle Hendricks. Hendricks, a rare breed who is known not for his velocity, but instead for his control, has struggled in the first inning this year; his ERA in the opening frame sat at 11.77 coming into the game. Villar must’ve known this, as he took his 1-1 pitch into the right-center field gap for a leadoff double, and the Mets were officially in business.

After retiring Lindor with a filthy hook and winning a lengthy battle with Pete Alonso, Dom Smith came to the plate, looking to continue a hot streak that saw him batting 4-for-9 in his previous three games. The first baseman turned outfielder made good contact, lining a ball down the first base line, but it unfortunately was right towards Anthony Rizzo, who gloved the ball on the fly to retire the side.

Stroman continued to take advantage of the Cubs’ aggressive approach in the second, retiring Jason Heyward on just one pitch. He struck out two more batters in the inning, allowing a four-pitch walk but pitching otherwise perfectly.

Outfielder Billy McKinney supplied the potential rally-starter in the bottom of the second with a one-out double, but it was quashed by Hendricks once again; both Kevin Pillar and Jose Peraza had chances to drive McKinney home, but couldn’t cash in.

Facing the top of the order once again in the third, Stroman managed to get Joc Pederson to fly into shallow left field for what looked like a sure out. However, it was misplayed by Smith and Villar, who let the ball drop between them, and Pederson settled for a gifted double. Stroman took a page out of Hendrick’s book, however, and finished off his remaining batters in order, escaping trouble with no damage done.

Hendricks struck out the side in order in his half of the third, and Stroman was quickly back out to the mound. The right-hander continued his strong performance, allowing just one hit and retiring the other Cubs via three groundouts.

The Mets had another great chance to score in the home fourth, as Alonso and Smith led off with fantastic at-bats to each draw walks. Hendricks, however, killed the rally once again, forcing James McCann into a double play before retiring McKinney via the groundout, holding the Mets at bay.

Pillar stole the thunder in the top half of the fifth, making a fantastic leaping play at the wall to rob Pederson of an extra-base hit. Stroman held the reigns for the rest of the inning, retiring the other two Cubs to finish off a 1-2-3 inning.

Hendricks and Stroman then took turns setting down the side in order in the following two half innings, with Stroman striking out his seventh of the evening. Hendricks continued his dominance in the bottom of the sixth, ending the frame by retiring his eighth batter in a row to hold the shutout.

Stroman struck out his eighth batter in the seventh, punching out Jake Marisnick for the second out of the inning. Sergio Alcantara then rocketed a ground ball down the first base line that was picked off on a tremendous dive from Alonso at first. The Polar Bear finished off the play by diving to tag the first base bag for the third out of the inning.

That play would prove to be the final out of Stroman’s outing, as Jeurys Familia came into the game for the eighth. The right-hander was immediately let down by his defense, as Lindor allowed a baserunner to reach after booting a routine ground ball. Familia was not rattled, however, as he secured a fielder’s choice and a 5-4-3 double play to end the frame.

Trevor May finished off the ninth for New York on the mound, punching out one in a scoreless frame.

On the other side of things, the Mets had been retired 14 times in a row going into the bottom of the ninth, but with the top of the order coming up, they looked to rally against Cubs closer, Craig Kimbrel.

Unfortunately, Kimbrel and his 0.64 ERA held firm, and the Mets went down in order to finish off the game. Chicago’s pitchers retired the last 17 batters they faced, with the final baserunner coming from a Smith walk in the fourth.

Still, the Mets took three of four from the top team in the NL Central, and remain nine games above .500. New York will travel down the Washington D.C. to play the Nationals in a four-game set starting Friday, with Joey Lucchesi going up against Erick Fedde in game one.