This is a bad losing streak. It is inevitable. The Cubs have played 16 games in 16 days and I’m sure they need a day off. Also, anything can happen in a short series like that. Totally correct. But still – this is not a series where you look at the schedule and say, “Yeah, it would be nice if the Cubs dropped that.”
The Cubs nearly pulled off a thrilling comeback in the ninth, when Seiya Suzuki homered to get the Cubs on a run, then the Cubs put up two more with no one out. Nick Madrigal’s hit, Christopher Morell’s hit, Nico Horner’s walk, and Ian Happ’s hit later, it’s game over and my hair is pulled.
Kyle Hendricks wasn’t too shabby tonight, with the only damage he allowed on Alonso’s obligatory homer (why, oh, why, would you throw him anything near the area?). But the Mets really ground him in the fifth, shortening their night, pitching Hayden Wisinski in the sixth inning. Unfortunately, he didn’t have his best command (and wasn’t quite ready to succeed in that spot with all lefties showing up), and the Mets were quick to pounce on him all over the place. That led to two quick runs, and the Mets took a 4-2 lead.
Offensively, the Cubs struggled to collect much tonight overall. Seiya Suzuki made a big game in his return to the starting lineup, with three hits, including a triple and a homer. Christopher Morrell led off the game with a homer, but his hit in the ninth inning—with one out and a runner on second and third*—loomed large.
*(That’s why I didn’t like Nick Madrigal’s sack game there. Yeah, you get to run to third with one out, but you’re setting it up for a guy who’s out a lot.)
The Mets, I’m told, had a joke of the bulls, but they kind of had the cubs every series.
Speaking of owning all the Cubs series…
