Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
The Mets (35-25) took the series against Chicago (38-30) with a 6-3 triumph on Wednesday evening at Citi Field with a chance to sweep the four-game set on Thursday. They now own a 14-5 record over last 19 games and have won six of their last seven. They are 10 games above .500 for the first time since April 15, 2018.
Despite Jacob deGrom‘s early exit due to shoulder soreness, the Mets’ staff held it down on the mound, combining to allow just three hits on the evening — two for home runs. After 16 strikeouts recorded on Wednesday, the club has posted 40 strikeouts against the Cubs this series, compared to six walks allowed.
New York notched six runs on five hits Wednesday evening, scoring in four straight innings. The Mets struck first in the second when Billy McKinney drew a leadoff walk, and Kevin Pillar sent an RBI double into deep left field to send him home. DeGrom made it 2-0 with an RBI single for his sixth of the season. He now has six RBI in 2021 and has allowed just four earned runs on the mound. The man can do it all.
Dominic Smith kept the scoring going with a solo homer in the third. In the next frame, a Luis Guillorme leadoff walk, a Tomas Nido single, and a Sean Reid-Foley walk juiced the bases. New York picked up a pair of runs as Francisco Lindor walked in a run and Smith knocked an RBI groundout to make it 5-1 New York. Pillar followed up with another solo homer in the fifth.
DeGrom tossed three perfect innings before exiting the game in the fourth with right shoulder soreness. He fanned eight of nine batters faced and now owns a 0.54 ERA through his first 11 starts.
Sean Reid-Foley (2-0) earned the win in relief, tossing two innings and allowing just one hit – a solo homer to Anthony Rizzo. Aaron Loup (two strikeouts), Miguel Castro (two strikeouts), and Trevor May (three strikeouts) each added a hitless inning.
New York had a one-hitter going for the first time since 2016 against the Phillies, but Drew Smith struggled a bit in the ninth. He gave up a one-out walk, followed by a two-run blast to Rafael Ortega to cut the Mets lead to 6-3.
Smith continued to struggle and allowed a two-out baserunner, so the Mets signaled to the bullpen. Edwin Diaz entered with a runner on first and tossed four pitches to earn the one-out save with the help of a Mason Williams diving catch in center to end the evening on a high note.
The Mets look to sweep the four-game series against Chicago Thursday evening at Citi Field. New York will send Marcus Stroman (6-4, 2.33 ERA) to the mound to face off against Kyle Hendricks (8-4, 4.46 ERA). In his last outing, Stroman allowed just one run on six hits while striking out eight over 6.1 innings. Hendricks allowed two runs over six innings against the Cardinals, adding a pair of strikeouts. Thursday’s game is slated for 7:10 pm ET and will be broadcast on SNY and WCBS 880AM.
