Mets 11, Cubs 1 (Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL)
Mets Record: 36-38
Mets Streak: W1
Mets Last 10: 8-2
WP: Jose Quintana (3-5)
LP: Shota Imanaga (7-2)
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.
Today's Seat On The Korner goes to Mets' starting pitcher Jose Quintana, who delivered his second consecutive strong start. On a day when the wind was blowing out at Wrigley Quintana excelled at keeping the ball in the yard, giving up just one run on four hits while walking one and striking out eight Cubs on the afternoon. The strong performance allowed Quintana to pick up his third win of the season.
Need To Know:
Prior to the game, the Mets placed backup catcher Luis Torrens on the paternity list. Catcher Joe Hudson was recalled from AAA Syracuse to take Torrens' place on the active roster.
Hudson made his Mets' debut in the ninth inning as a defensive replacement for Francisco Alvarez. The Mets gave Hudson No. 57, making him the first player to wear that number for the franchise since Johan Santana.
The Mets have claimed outfielder Duke Ellis off waivers from the Chicago White Sox and assigned him to AA Binghamton.
Alvarez hit a solo homer in the second inning to mark his first blast since March 30th.
Brandon Nimmo's red-hot June continued as he went 2-for-4 with a homer, two RBIs and three runs scored. Nimmo is hitting .333 (22-for-66) with three home runs and 13 RBIs this month.
This is the sixth time this season the Mets have scored 10 runs in a game. Four of those efforts have come in their past nine games.
Adam Ottavino worked 1.2 innings of scoreless relief and threw a season-high 44 pitches in the outing.
The Mets are now 14-5 since their player's only meeting and are 12-5 in the month of June.
Former Met Tomas Nido made his Cubs' debut as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning. Nido struck out against Drew Smith for the game's final out.
Turning Point
Seeing Shota Imanaga, who dominated them the first time the teams met in April, meant the Mets needed to get a jump on him early to start building more momentum for their season. After the first two men reached in the top of the first, J.D. Martinez delivered the big blow, launching a three-run homer to make an early statement in this one.
Three Things
Shoving Shota Around
When Imanaga faced the Mets in April he absolutely flustered their lineup, giving up just three hits over seven shutout innings to pick up his fifth win of the season. The Mets were the first team to see Imanaga for a second time and absolutely tattooed him, racking up 10 runs on 11 hits in 3+ innings to cause Imanaga's ERA to go up more than a run from 1.89 to 2.96.
Making An All-Star Case
The consensus around the league seems to be that the Mets will get just one All Star rep in Arlington next month and Francisco Lindor is making a strong case to be that guy. Lindor stayed hot against the Cubs, going 3-for-5 with two doubles and two runs scored on the afternoon. The second double gave Lindor 20 on the season and makes him just one of three players in Major League Baseball to rack up at least 10 home runs, 10 steals, and 20 doubles this season.
Jose Iglesias Keeps Raking
With another lefty on the mound, Jose Iglesias entered the starting lineup in place of Jeff McNeil and continued to make his case for more playing time. Iglesias was a spark plug at the bottom of the Mets' lineup, going 4-for-5 with a run scored and three RBI out of the eight hole while playing his usual strong defense at second base. Since coming up to the majors in late May, Iglesias is hitting .438 over his first 32 at-bats.