CHICAGO — Nolan McLean's presence on the mound Thursday night time was the Mets' greatest predictor of success, however they had been going to wish greater than their de facto ace to protect their lead for the NL's closing wild card.
The Mets acquired all of it: Large swings. Protection. And an enormous enhance from a bullpen that has been pushed to the restrict this week.
Already figuring out the Reds had received and would assume place for the third and closing wild card in the event that they didn't seize this sequence rubber sport in opposition to the Cubs, the Mets pounced early and held on for an 8-5 victory at Wrigley Discipline.
It left the Mets with a one-game lead on the Reds and forward of the Diamondbacks (who misplaced to the Dodgers) by two video games.
The Mets don't maintain the tiebreaker in opposition to both Cincinnati or Arizona, making it crucial they end no less than one sport forward.
It's right down to the ultimate weekend, with the Mets opening a sequence in Miami. The Reds play in Milwaukee. The D'backs play in San Diego.
One will emerge with a ticket to face the Dodgers in subsequent week's wild-card spherical.
Brett Baty introduced the thunder with a three-run homer, and Francisco Lindor additionally went deep on an evening the Mets obtained a mixed 3 2/3 innings of scoreless reduction from Ryne Stanek, Brooks Raley, Tyler Rogers and Edwin Diaz.
McLean stormed into the sixth with a 6-1 lead, however by no means escaped the inning. He struck out a career-high 11, and likewise was tagged for essentially the most earned runs (5) in any of his eight begins since his promotion from Syracuse.
Over 5 1/3 innings, he surrendered 5 hits and two walks as his ERA jumped from 1.27 to 2.06.
The Mets gave McLean a two-run lead earlier than he even threw his first pitch. Pete Alonso's double put runners on second and third — Lindor led off with a stroll — and Mark Vientos hit a pop-up, on which Dansby Swanson fell into the third-base grandstand as he caught it.
Lindor was awarded house plate because of Swanson falling into the stands.
Brandon Nimmo's ensuing RBI single gave the Mets a 2-0 lead. Lindor homered within the third to increase that result in 3-0. The blast gave the Mets three gamers — Juan Soto and Alonso are the others — with no less than 30 homers in a season for the primary time in franchise historical past.
Lindor and Soto additionally grew to become the third pair of teammates in MLB historical past (becoming a member of Darryl Strawberry and Howard Johnson with the 1987 Mets and Ellis Burks and Dante Bichette with the 1996 Rockies) within the 30/30 membership for homers and stolen bases.
Baty gave the Mets loads of cushion with a three-run within the fourth that buried the Cubs in a 6-0 gap. Nimmo and Luis Torrens every singled earlier than Baty went to the alternative area and cleared the ivy in left in opposition to left-hander Shota Imanaga.
The homer was Baty's 18th this season.
McLean dented within the fourth, when Seiya Suzuki homered with two outs to slice the Mets' result in 6-1.
Dansby Swanson blasted a homer within the fifth to present the Cubs their second run.
Coming into the day McLean had allowed just one homer in his first seven main league begins. McLean's inning started with a strikeout of Pete Crow-Armstrong. The strikeout was McLean's ninth of the night time, a brand new profession excessive.
Earlier than the inning concluded he struck out Matt Shaw for No. 10. Tyrone Taylor stroked a two-run double within the sixth that knocked out Imanaga and buried the Cubs in an 8-2 gap.
Nimmo and Baty every singled forward of Taylor, who returned from the injured record an evening earlier to assert a share of the beginning middle area job.
Suzuki's second homer of the sport, a three-blast within the sixth, pulled the Cubs inside 8-5 and eliminated McLean, whose struggles started with one out: Ian Happ walked and Moises Ballesteros doubled him to 3rd. Suzuki clobbered an 0-1 pitch into the left-field seats.
Stanek changed McLean and recorded the ultimate two outs within the inning.
