Suzuki returns to form, but Cubs drop game and series to the Mets
When Kyle Hendricks struck out Pete Alonso with the bases loaded in a tie game Wednesday, it looked like the Cubs had sidestepped the danger zone.
But with Hayden Wesneski on in relief to start the next inning, Jeff McNeil parked the second pitch over the wall in right-center field for a go-ahead home run. The Mets scored twice off Wesneski in the sixth and hung on to beat the Cubs 4-3 to take the three-game series at Citi Field.
Now, at least, the Cubs will get some rest. This was the end of 16 games without a day off. They can relax Thursday before starting a three-game series in Toronto.
The good news for the Cubs was the successful reappearance of Seiya Suzuki. After not starting in four straight games, Suzuki returned to right field and went 3-for-4 at the plate with a home run and a triple. He had three of the six highest exit velocities in the game, according to Statcast.
"This group's fought all year long," manager David Ross told reporters after the game. "Wasn't Wes' day. He had a rough outing and that's how the game went. We couldn't scrap back, but it's not for a lack of fight and effort. These guys grinded all the way to the end. We need to reset a lot of things going into the off-day."
Before the game, Ross announced left-hander Drew Smyly will be moving to the bullpen for the time being. Smyly gave up 12 earned runs in his last two starts; going back to June 28, he's posted a 9.00 ERA.
While Javier Assad will get the start Friday, the Cubs could really use a boost from Wesneski, with Smyly struggling and Marcus Stroman on the injured list. Ross suggested Smyly's bullpen stay could be for a "short amount of time." They have two more off-days coming next week.
"I don't know that he needs a real mental break," Ross said of Smyly. "It's an opportunity for him to help us out of the pen while he's not throwing his best.
"He wants to win like everybody else. He gets it with all the off days; Toronto and what they've done to lefties, especially over the last couple of months, has been pretty impressive. So trying to take the best matchups to give ourselves a chance to win is what we're trying to do."
Hendricks ended up with a decent outing, allowing 5 hits and 2 runs in 5 innings. The Mets scored the 2 runs on a 2-run homer by who else? Alonso, who belted his fourth home run of the three-game series. Just before the homer, Hendricks appeared to pick off Francisco Lindor at first base, but the call was overturned by a replay review.
"I'm pretty excited about it," Hendricks said. "Overall, I felt command was back, established the fastball. Really, just made one bad pitch. You don't want to give in at all, but you can't let that guy (Alonso) beat you either. You want that one back for sure. Other than that, I've just got to keep doing what I'm doing."
Suzuki led off the ninth with a home run to pull the Cubs within a run. After Jeimer Candelario singled and Mike Tauchman walked, Mets manager Buck Showalter removed his saves leader Adam Ottavino, who seemed surprised to get the hook.
Right-hander Phil Bickford was summoned from the bullpen. The former Dodger posted a 16.20 ERA in his first four appearances with the Mets, but he got the job done this time. After Nick Madrigal bunted the runners to second and third, Bickford struck out Christopher Morel, walked Nico Hoerner and struck out Ian Happ to end the game.
Morel led off the game with his 18th home run. Suzuki scored on a passed ball following his second-inning triple and the Cubs led 2-0.
Offense was an issue throughout this series. The Mets are in the bottom half of MLB in ERA, but the Cubs scored just 2, 3 and 3 runs. They left nine men on base in Wednesday's loss.
Conventions dates set:
The Cubs announced the date and site of the 2024 Cubs Convention. The event will be held Jan. 12-14 at the Sheraton Grand Chicago. Hotel packages are available starting Thursday, see cubs.com/convention for more details.