Mets lose to Cubs
New York — Jon Lester dominated for seven innings and Javier Baez stole home to break a scoreless tie as the Chicago Cubs blanked the New York Mets 2-0 Sunday, completing a four-game sweep and winning for the seventh time in eight games.
The Mets have lost four straight and nine of 11, dropping three games under .500 for the first time this season. They scored just six runs in this series.
The two clubs were back at it on Sunday following a rainy, 14-inning marathon that took almost five hours to complete the night before.
On an unseasonably cool afternoon, both starting pitchers matched zeroes until the seventh, when the Cubs scored twice thanks to some very aggressive baserunning.
Baez and Willson Contreras led off with back-to-back singles, putting runners at the corners. With Ian Happ at the plate, Chicago pulled off a daring double steal.
Mets starter Steven Matz (2-4) 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.