Cubs 8 Mets 1 (Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL)
Mets record: 36-39
Mets streak: Lost 1
WP - Jameson Taillon (4-3)
LP - Tylor Megill (2-4)
Seat on the Korner:
We select the star of the game and virtually invite him to a Seat on the Korner, just as Ralph Kiner used to do for his studio postgame show on WOR-channel 9 broadcasts in the early decades of the Mets.
Jameson Taillon's 10 strikeouts and 0 walks in 7 innings were more than enough for the Cubs today as they rode a big first inning to victory as the Mets couldn't continue their momentum from yesterday's blowout win.
Need to Know
The Cubs dropped 5 in the bottom of the first off Tylor Megill. They were 1-for-7 with RISP in yesterday's game, but they were 4-for-5 in the first inning today.
Megill's outing was short ... three innings, six runs on five hits and three walks and six K's.
Starling Marte was pulled from the game after grounding out to third in the top of the 2nd. The Mets announced that he left the game with right knee soreness.
Christopher Morel's solo homer in the 3rd was his third home run against the Mets in six games this season.
Fransisco Alvarez's solo HR in the 5th was his second in two games. Alvarez would go 2-for-3 on the day with a walk.
J.D. Martinez would also have a multiple hit day, going 2-for-4.
Tomas Nido drove in a run against his former teammates in the 6th, flying a double over D.J. Stewart's head to give the Cubs a 7-1 lead.
Turning Point
You could probably point to anything in that 5 run top of the first. But the two underrated moments was when Michael Busch grounded to Pete Alonso for what could have been a double play, but Alonso's throw was on the other side of the runner and the Mets only got one out. The next batter was Cody Bellinger, and Megill lost him after going from down 3-0 to a full count.
Both of those set up the "death by a thousand cuts" inning in whcih five different Cubs drove in runs, culminating with Pete Crow-Armstrong's RBI triple to make it 5-0.
Three Keys
Shots of Jameson
Jameson Taillon came into the game with a lifetime 2.10 ERA in 34 and 1/3 innings and a 3-0 record against the Mets in his career. (That includes a 7 and 1/3 inning outing earlier this year.)
Taillon was dominant in the first three innings today ...
Then he ran into a little bit of trouble in the 4th after Brandon Nimmo and J.D. Martinez singled to start the inning. After Alonso grounded into a force out, it was up to D.J. Stewart and Tyrone Taylor to put the Mets on the board.
Stewart struck out on a nasty pitch, but that 2-1 pitch that Stewart fouled back was right in his wheelhouse, and he missed. (Stewart would go 0-for-4 with 3 strikeouts today.)
Taylor had a 1-1 pitch to mash and he fouled it off, which set up his strikeout looking on the 1-2 pitch. End of rally, end of the Mets best chance to make noise.
Alonso's Issues
Pete Alonso hd tough day in the field. We already discussed his first inning throw which gave the Mets one out instead of a possible two. In the 6th inning with Crow Armstrong on first, Alvarez threw behind the runner and had PCA dead. But Alonso was confused as to where PCA was and barely even looked behind him.
PCA would then score on Nido's double.
Alonso would then make a great play on a Cody Bellinger grounder with two outs, but Alonso would throw another one away to bring home the Cubs' 8th run.
Shoutout to D-Young
If you want abright spot, I present to you Danny Young's scoreless one and a third innings tody, highlighted by this play:
Reliable lefties are always at a premium, especially this season with Brooks Raley out and Jake Diekman spotty at best. Here's hoping Young can pitch anywhere close to his 0.87 ERA the rest of the way.
Commenti