 was unaware that Baez was breaking for the plate, stepping off and throwing to first baseman Adrian Gonzalez in an attempt to pick off Contreras instead.Gonzalez fired home but it was too late to catch the sliding Baez, who scored easily while Contreras advanced to second. An amped-up Baez was greeted by raucous cheers and smiles in the Cubs dugout- including a big grin on the face of Lester.With runners on the corners again later in the inning, Ben Zobrist hit a popup to shallow right field. Second baseman Luis Guillorme made an awkward stretching catch and was not in position to make a clean throw home, allowing Contreras to score and giving the Cubs a 2-0 lead on an unlikely sacrifice fly.Lester (6-2) walked the first two batters of the game but proceeded to strike out the side. The four-time All-Star then retired 14 in a row until two outs in the fifth inning, when shortstop Addison Russell misplayed a two-out grounder off the bat of the speedy Amed Rosario into an error.Playing short-handed due to multiple injuries, the Mets were forced to slot five lefties into the starting lineup against a tough southpaw.Lester faced his only real challenge in the sixth inning. With one out, Jose Bautista was hit on the foot with a pitch. After Jay Bruce flied out, cleanup hitter Kevin Plawecki's sharp grounder to the left side grazed Baez's glove but continued on into left field for New York's first hit of the game.Michael Conforto walked to load the bases, but Lester coaxed a weak grounder from Gonzalez to end the threat.Lester allowed just two hits, walking three and striking out seven.Brian Duensing pitched a scoreless ninth for his first save in two chances.TRAINER'S ROOMCubs: 3B Kris Bryant was given the day off to rest. Happ manned first base for the first time in his career. ... SS Russell left the game with a left middle finger contusion.Mets: LF Yoenis Cespedes (strained right hip flexor) will face live pitching on Tuesday. Manager Mickey Callaway is not sure if the slugger will play in any minor league games before returning, noting that the club will ''lean on him'' when making that decision. ... RHP Noah Syndergaard (strained ligament in right index finger) was scheduled to throw a light side session Sunday. ... RHP Anthony Swarzak (strained left oblique) was set to pitch for Triple-A Las Vegas on Sunday in what could be his final rehab appearance, according to Callaway. ... RHP AJ Ramos (strained right shoulder) has yet to begin throwing. ... C Devin Mesoraco felt some tightness in his hamstring during Saturday's game and was lifted as part of a double switch. ... 3B Todd Frazier (strained left hamstring) is likely to be activated Tuesday. ... 3B David Wright (shoulder and back surgeries) fielded grounders before the game.UP NEXTCubs: Chicago begins a six-game homestand Tuesday against the Phillies, sending RHP Kyle Hendricks (4-4, 3.19 ERA) to the hill in the series opener against RHP Zach Eflin (1-2, 4.50 ERA).Mets: Following a much-needed off day, New York welcomes Baltimore to town for a two-game set. LHP Jason Vargas (2-3, 8.53 ERA) is slated to start for the Mets Tuesday night. The Orioles counter with RHP Dylan Bundy (3-7, 4.46 ERA).)
Energized Cubs go for four-game sweep of skidding Mets 5m ago• 3 min read NEW YORK -- Both the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs should be tired Sunday afternoon, when the first pitch of their series finale at Citi Field is scheduled to be thrown 13 hours after the last pitch of Saturday's game.But riding a six-run 14th inning to victory as Saturday night bled into Sunday morning means there's a pretty good chance the Cubs feel far more energized than the Mets.The visiting Cubs will look to complete a four-game sweep of the reeling Mets on Sunday afternoon, when Jon Lester (5-2, 2.71 ERA) takes the mound for Chicago against Steven Matz (2-3, 3.55 ERA) in a battle of left-handers.Albert Almora Jr.'s two-run double sparked the big 14th inning Saturday, when the Cubs beat the Mets, 7-1. Ben Zobrist (two-run double) and Javier Baez (two-run homer) added RBI hits later in the frame to ensure the yeoman relief effort of Luke Farrell, who struck out seven in five scoreless innings wouldn't go for naught.The 14th inning was preceded by plenty of frustration for the Cubs (32-23), who stranded 17 runners in the first 13 innings and struck out 24 times."Listen, obviously I'm a lot chippier and happier right now because we won," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "Had we not won that game, with all those opportunities, it would have been difficult." Suffice to say Mets manager Mickey Callaway understood exactly what Maddon was talking about. The 24 strikeouts by its pitchers were a single-game team record for New York (27-29), which wasted a gem by ace right-hander Jacob deGrom (one run and 13 strikeouts in seven innings) and rendered meaningless were six subsequent scoreless innings by a bullpen that entered Saturday with an 8.42 ERA in the previous nine games."They did a great job of keeping us where we needed to be and giving us extra at-bats to go out there and scratch one run over the plate," Callaway said.The Mets stranded 11 runners and left the bases loaded in the 13th en route to their eighth loss in 10 games."We've just got to go out there and grind," Callaway said. "It was a frustrating night." The Cubs and Mets will obviously be looking for distance Sunday from Lester and Matz, each of whom made headlines this week for what he did at the plate instead of on the mound.Lester, who earned the win in his most recent start Tuesday after allowing four runs over six innings as the Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-6, made his third career pinch-hitting appearance Friday, when he grounded out in the ninth inning of Chicago's 7-4 victory.The 0-for-1 didn't even drop Lester's career average, which remained at .094. But afterward, Maddon praised the hitting potential possessed by Lester, who was hitless in his first 66 career at-bats."I think it's just a matter of getting more opportunities, because technically he's got a really good swing." Maddon said. "This guy has a good approach and he's hitting with a lot of confidence right now." Matz is also pitching for the first time since Tuesday, when he was forced to leave after three scoreless innings against the Atlanta Braves due to a strained left middle finger suffered while fouling off a pitch an at-bat a half-inning earlier. The southpaw, who doubled during the at-bat, played catch Thursday and threw his usual bullpen session on Friday.Lester is 5-1 with a 3.83 ERA in seven career starts against the Mets.Matz is 0-1 with a 6.10 ERA in two starts against the Cubs.
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