Not Much Goes Right In Mets’ 16-4 Loss To Cubs

The Mets (7-6) were blown out, 16-4, by the Cubs (8-9) at Wrigley Field on Wednesday evening. The night was an all-around disaster, as the pitching allowed Chicago to bat around the order in two separate innings and the defense had four errors.

New York’s staff combined to allowed 16 runs on 13 hits, walked eight, and struck out eight. The four errors charged to New York’s defense did not help their cause, but the men on the mound just did not have it on Wednesday.

(Box Score)

On The Mound 

David Peterson got the start for New York on a Wednesday evening most fans would be happy to forget.

Peterson got through his first three innings with ease, allowing just a walk in the second to Anthony Rizzo. It wasn’t until the fourth that the lefty allowed a base hit which unexpectedly resulted in a complete loss of control for the outing.

To start off, Chicago notched three straight singles to drive in a run and cut New York’s lead in half, 2-1. Then with one out, J.D. Davis made a critical error at third on a potentially inning-ending double play, resulting in a bases loaded jam that Peterson could not recover from. He walked in a run to tie the game up and could not stop the bleeding. A subsequent blooper into shallow right field broke the game open and two more runs scored as a result of a throwing error by Michael Conforto, ending the starter’s night.

Robert Gsellman entered with second and third and one out to try and limit the damage. The Cubs drove another two runs home on a groundout and an RBI base hit. With two outs, a seventh run scored on a base hit to Francisco Lindor that resulted in the third Mets error of the frame with a wide throw to first base.

Of the Cubs’ seven-spot in the fourth, six runs were charged to Peterson, three unearned, inflating his season ERA to a 6.75. He walked two and struck out three in taking the loss and now owns a 1-2 record for the season.

Gsellman stuck around for the fifth and quickly got himself back into trouble. Chicago juiced the bases with one out after a leadoff double, a walk, and a catcher’s interference. A hit off of the reliever’s leg resulted in two runs scoring on a single, in what should have been an inning-ending double play. Now a 9-4 ballgame, Gsellman’s night came to an end after one inning with four runs, two earned, and a walk — raising his ERA to a 7.71.

Trevor Hildenberger entered the fifth with runners on first and third and one out. Another run scored on a groundout, making it 10-4 Chicago, but the reliever was able to get out of the frame without further trouble. The run was charged to Gsellman.

Hildenberger stayed in the game for the sixth but the relentless Cubs once again put him in a bases loaded jam after surrendering three walks. With two outs, he let Javier Baez get the best of his slider as the shortstop erupted for a grand slam, turning the game into a 14-4 blowout. Hildenberger subsequently put two more men on with a base hit and a hit batsmen, signaling that it was time he was pulled for the evening. He threw one and 1/3 innings, allowed four earned runs, walked three, and struck out two.

Aaron Loup took over with with two on and two out, and set Jake Marisnick down swinging to strand the pair.

Miguel Castro tossed a much-needed shutout seventh inning, with a walk and two strikeouts.

The Mets elected to use a position player in the eighth to save the bullpen, sending infielder Luis Guillorme to the mound. He gave up two more runs for the final 16-4 score on a walk, a pair of singles, and a double as the Cubs basically took batting practice off of him.

At The Plate

The Mets notched 10 hits against Chicago on Wednesday evening.

Francisco Lindor got the club on the board early with a solo homer in the top of the first for his first as a Met. J.D. Davis notched a leadoff single in the second, marking his fifth straight game with a hit around a trip to the injured list.

New York picked up another run in the third. Jeff McNeil knocked a leadoff single and Pete Alonso walked to put the team in scoring position, and with two outs, Davis knocked his second hit of the night with a ball up the gap into center field for an RBI double. Conforto grounded out to strand two runners.

James McCann hit a one-out single in the fourth, and moved to second on a sac bunt by Peterson, but was left stranded.

The disastrous seven-run fourth inning by Chicago seemed to give New York a spark, but it would fade. The club answered with a Lindor base-hit and a subsequent Pete Alonso two-run bomb that closed the gap a bit to 7-4. Unfortunately, the team wouldn’t score again as the Cubs’ lead was just too large to tackle.

For the rest of the game, Conforto drew a two-out walk in the fifth and Lindor knocked leadoff single in seventh for his third hit of the evening. Albert Almora and Guillorme notched a pair of base hits in the top of the ninth inning.

Lindor went 3-for-4 with a homer. The club was 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left six on base.

On Deck

The Mets look to avoid the sweep against the Cubs on Thursday evening. Joey Lucchesi (0-1, 5.40 ERA) will face off against Trevor Williams (2-1, 5.02 ERA) in the finale of the three-game series.

Lucchesi is making his second start of the season. In his last outing, the lefty gave up three runs on four hits over three innings pitched with three strikeouts. He took the loss in the game against Colorado.

In Williams’ last start, he allowed one run on four hits through five innings – adding four strikeouts and walking three.

First pitch in Chicago will be at 7:40 PM ET on April 22. The game will be televised by SNY and broadcast on WCBS 880-AM.

The post Not Much Goes Right In Mets’ 16-4 Loss To Cubs first appeared on Metsmerized Online.