Coming off a much needed comeback win on Thursday, Jacob deGrom took the mound against Jason Hammel and the Cubs in the second game of a four-game set. The Cubs, dealing with some injury troubles of their own (Kyle Schwarber, Dexter Fowler and Jorge Soler are all on the DL) have come back to the pack a bit but remain the class of the National League. The Mets, meanwhile, are struggling just to tread water and remain relevant until reinforcements arrive or their luck with runners in scoring position corrects itself.
After a rain delay to start the game, deGrom came out throwing gas, striking out Ben Zobrist and Anthony Rizzo as he worked around a Kris Bryant walk and steal in the first. His velocity dipped down to the 93-94 mph range in the second, but that didn’t stop deGrom from racking up another two strikeouts, this time against Javier Baez and Addison Russel.
Hammel had a similarly strong in the first, setting the Mets down in order. The second did not go as smoothly, however, as James Loney and Asdrubal Cabrera started the inning with back to back home runs. Loney’s homer was particularly impressive, a towering moon shot that somehow stayed fair down the right field line and banked off the facing of the Coca Cola Corner. The next three Mets would be retired before the game was delayed by rain, but the Mets entered the break with a 2-0 lead.
After a delay of one hour and eight minutes, deGrom (somewhat surprisingly) returned to the mound. He showed no ill effects from the time on the bench, as he set the Cubs down in order with another strikeout, this time of Albert Almora. deGrom surrendered a solo shot to Bryant in the fourth, but that was the only hit he allowed through five innings (with some help from a diving Brandon Nimmo).
Jon Maddon elected to send Hammel back out to the mound after the rain delay as well, but that decision was a poor one. In the third, Loney drove in two more runs with a two out double to push the Met lead to four runs. In the fourth, Wilmer Flores walked and Travis d’Arnaud singled to put runners on second and third with one out. deGrom bunted the runners to second and third before Nimmo launched the longest Met homer of the season at 442 feet. The three-run blast was Nimmo’s first career home run and gave the Mets a 7-1 lead.
Finally, in the fifth, the Mets added another three runs on solo shot from Yoenis Cespdes and another home run from Cabrera, this one a two-run jack. All told, the Mets hit five home runs and scored 10 runs off of Hammel, who departed without recording an out in the fifth. Spencer Patton came in and retired the next three Mets, but with the lead at nine runs and deGrom cruising, the game seemed to be in the bag.
Of course, nothing has come easy to this 2016 Met team, and the Cubs were determined to continue that trend. deGrom surrendered singles to Almora and Matt Szczur (pinch hitting for Zobrist) to start the sixth before rain delayed the game for a third time. This time, the rain delay chased deGrom, and he was relieved by Jerry Blevins, who proceeded to set down the next three Cubs and erase the threat, including a strikeout of Bryant.
Hansel Robles took over in the seventh, allowing a leadoff double to Willson Contreras. Contreras would come around to score, but Robles struck out Almora to prevent the Cubs from inching any closer. In the eighth, Seth Lugo made his major league debut and looked excellent. He allowed one hit, a single to Jason Heyward, and had a very odd balk, but ended his first major league inning by striking out Anthony Rizzo on three pitches.
The Mets offense seemingly decided to take mercy on the Cubs, putting runners on but not really threatening at all over the final three innings. Of note, Nimmo had two more hard hit balls, one of which went for a single to center, while Loney twice failed to hit the triple he needed for the cycle. Thankfully, no bullpen implosion made any more runs necessary. Lugo returned to the mound for the ninth and worked around a single and a hit batter to end the game.
Right now, wins are welcome in any form for the Mets, especially against teams as good as the Cubs. Unfortunately, both the Marlins and Nationals won in extra innings, preventing the Mets from gaining ground on their two division rivals. The Cardinals, Pirates and Dodgers also won their games, meaning the Mets didn’t pick up any ground in the wild card race either. Still, it’s a big positive for the Met offense to break out and score double digit runs, even racking up a pair of hits with runners in scoring position.
Bartolo Colon opposes Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta on Saturday as the Mets attempt to keep their recent surge rolling.