Anthony Rizzo homered twice off Colon, Kyle Hendricks pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings and the Chicago Cubs beat NY 6-2 Wednesday to take two of three in a rematch of last year’s NL Championship Series.
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Closer Jeurys Familia escaped a bases-loaded jam with a game-ending double play after Rene Rivera drove in the tiebreaking run with two outs in the top of the ninth, lifting the Mets to their fifth victory in six games against the Cubs this season.
Colon surrendered a pair of long home runs to Cubs slugger Anthony Rizzo and uncharacteristically issued two walks in the rough outing.
With the Mets wearing 1986 replica road uniforms, Colon (8-5) allowed allowed six runs and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings while laboring on the warm, humid day Maddon described as “Instructional League hot”. He’ll face the Cardinals next.
“We’ve played six really good games since the break, and that’s the part that has really stood out to me”, Maddon said.
Rizzo delivered the brunt of the damage against Colon, crushing home runs in the third and fifth inning to open up a five-run lead for Chicago.
“I just always try to calm down when I have situations like that – bases loaded, no out”, Familia said after the game. Rizzo now has 10 home runs in day games following night games, surely making up for his first career 0-4 game in which he struck out four times.
“We’ve got to go win two”. He lowered his ERA to 2.27, third best in the majors behind Clayton Kershaw and Madison Bumgarner.
“I think mentally I wasn’t prepared, and I paid the consequences”, Colon said in Spanish. Syndergaard was just one out shy of officially getting a quality start, also striking out eight with two walks and seven hits while throwing 105 pitches in 5 2/3 innings.
Left-hander Travis Wood, who had stranded 24 of 25 inherited runners this season, allowed a two-run home run to Wilmer Flores in the eighth. “Certainly uncharacteristic, but you’re going to have blips like that”. The Cubs would tack on another run in the frame on an RBI single from Javier Baez off of Antonio Bastardo, but all six runs were charged to Colon. He has allowed a combined 15 runs in his past three starts after allowing 14 runs in the nine starts before that stretch.
New York, resting several starters ahead of a series in Miami, wasted chances.
Things looked great for the Cubs – bases loaded and nobody out – but Familia dialed in to get Matt Szczur to hit into a fielder’s choice and then got Kris Bryant to hit into a game-ending double play. The last – a liner to center by Kelly Johnson who went 4-for-4 on the day – sent James Loney around third and barreling for home as Cubs center fielder Jason Heyward fired a ideal strike to catcher Miguel Montero for a tag at the plate.
“The last five or six games I’ve pitched, I’ve had unbelievable defense and they’re scoring runs”, Hendricks said.
“You have your highs and lows in baseball”, Colon said of his recent poor outings. Manager Terry Collins said Cespedes is “not close to being 100 percent.”.
In addition to Cespedes sitting out, Collins also rested his middle-infield tandem of Asdrubal Cabrera and Neil Walker on Wednesday.
Cubs: CF Dexter Fowler (hamstring) was to begin a minor league injury rehabilitation assignment Wednesday night at Triple-A Iowa.
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Cubs: RHP Jason Hammel (8-5) starts Friday night at Milwaukee and RHP Jimmy Nelson (6-7).
