Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
The Mets (56-34) brought home a 8-0 win over the Cubs (34-55) on Thursday evening at Wrigley Field. New York notched 12 hits including home runs by Brandon Nimmo and Pete Alonso in the first of four games over the weekend. Carlos Carrasco and Trevor Williams combined to notch 10 strikeouts in the shutout, the team’s 13th of the year.
The triumph puts the Mets at 22 games above .500 and marks the club’s 56th win on the season. It’s the second-most the organization has ever reached ahead of the MLB All-Star Break. In 1986, the Amazins’ were 59-25 going into the break.
New York struck first in the opening frame and established a lead that would not be challenged through the remainder of the evening. Mets went up 1-0 in the first Francisco Lindor’s RBI double drove in Starling Marte, who reached via a single. Lindor’s RBI was his 65th of the year, two more than the shortstop recorded through the entirety of the 2021 season.
The club tacked on three more in the second inning off Cubs starter Keegan Thompson.
Eduardo Escobar singled, Dominic Smith walked, and Patrick Mazeika knocked an RBI double to send the pair of runners home. Nimmo followed with a single to advance Mazeika to third, and Marte got his second hit of the game to drive in the catcher, making it 4-0.
The Mets loaded the bases in the fifth after Pete Alonso was hit by a pitch and Jeff McNeil and Luis Guillorme drew back-to-back walks. Eduardo Escobar knocked an RBI single to send home Alonso and put ducks on the pond again with one out, making it 5-0, but Smith and Mazeika went down in order to end the frame.
Nimmo knocked a solo home run in the sixth, to make it 6-0. It was his ninth of the season and his third hit of the game. Then Alonso broke the game open in the eighth, crushing a two-run homer for his sixth homer in eight career games played at Wrigley Field.
The blast lifted the club to an 8-0 advantage, and marked the Polar Bear’s 24th home run and 74th RBI of the season. He tied David Wright for most RBIs a Met has ever recorded before the All-Star break with three games to go.
Carlos Carrasco got the start for New York on Thursday evening and tossed six scoreless innings, allowing five hits allowed, two walks, and six strikeouts over 90 pitches. He never really got into trouble, but he notched two inning-ending double plays in the second and fifth when batters reached first and second base.
Trevor Williams relieved Carrasco in the seventh and earned the save after tossing three scoreless frames–a rare three-inning save and the team’s first since Erasmo Ramirez in 2020. Williams did not allow a baserunner until the ninth inning, where he loaded the bases after allowing three singles. With two outs, the right-hander got out of the jam and solidified the shutout by inducing a groundout.
Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Player of the Game: Brandon Nimmo
Brandon Nimmo earns Thursday’s honor with a 3-for-3 appearance at the plate, including a walk, double and a home run. The outfielder was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle.
On Deck
The Mets play game two of four against the Cubs on Friday afternoon in Chicago.
Taijuan Walker (7-2, 2.63 ERA) will face off against former Met Marcus Stroman (2-5, 4.91 ERA). In his last outing, Walker tossed seven shutout innings against Miami and allowed just three hits, recording seven strikeouts. Stroman faced the Dodgers on July 9 and threw four scoreless frames with two hits allowed and three strikeouts. It was his first start in a month after missing time due to shoulder inflammation.
Fans can catch the action at Wrigley Field at 2:20 p.m. ET on SNY, MLB Network, or WCBS 880.
