The Chicago Cubs left hander returned to late spring form with an efficient 7 2/3 inning outing while Anthony Rizzo clubbed his 22nd home run of the season in a 5-1 victory over the New York Mets.
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The New York Mets look to make another loud statement against the Chicago Cubs when the clubs open a three-game series at Wrigley Field on Monday. The Cubs brought in their closer, Hector Rondon, and he got Travis d’Arnaud to ground into a game ending double play to pick up his 16th save of the year. NY will counter with their own ace on Tuesday as Noah Syndergaard will get the ball in what is one of the more anticipated pitching matchups of the season and after the Mets got the best of the Cubs in a four game sweep the last time these two sides faced off you can be sure the Cubs are out to return the favour.
“He’s our staple. KB is a stud, too, and there’s a lot of these guys that are great, but for me, Rizz is the catalyst, the leader and the guy that is just as consistent as it gets”.
“Even though I thought he (Matz) threw the ball fine, I didn’t think he had his real Grade A stuff”, said Mets manager Terry Collins.
Anthony Rizzo delivered the big blow Monday night: A three-run shot to cap off a 10-pitch at-bat in the third inning. “But he battled the best he could”. “It was good work for him tonight”.
Michael Conforto is hoping a short stay in Las Vegas turns into a strong finish with the New York Mets. NY has been struggling on the road of late but they always seem to get up when Thor takes the mound and they will look to get to Arrieta early and allow their flame thrower to take control of the game.
J.C. Ramirez (2-3) pitched 1 2-3 innings for the win, and Cam Bedrosian got the last three outs.
The Cubs would tally two more on a David Ross sacrifice and an RBI single from Albert Almora, Jr., but they had what they needed on Rizzo’s shot.
The Mets’ best early opportunity came in the second, after Neil Walker walked and Flores singled.
The Mets won all four in NY while Chicago claimed all seven regular-season games a year ago before being swept in the 2015 National League Championship Series.
The Cubs snapped an eight-game losing streak against the Mets dating to last year’s NLCS. Through 18 appearances (17 starts), the right-hander is now 9-4 with a 2.56 ERA and he has struck out 128 batters in 105.2 innings.
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After posting an 8.81 ERA in the 10 games prior to the All-Star Break, Cubs starters have immediately turned things around with a 1.95 ERA (5 ER in 27.2 IP) in the four games since. Lind pinch-hit for Chris Iannetta and hammered an 0-1 pitch over the wall in right-center for his 14th home run. Cubs 2B Ben Zobrist had a second straight day off on Monday and will also be idle on a Thursday off-day in what Cubs manager Joe Maddon called a belated All Star break. It was a tremendous improvement for Lester, who allowed eight runs in 1.1 innings the last time he faced the Mets.
