Errors prove costly as Mets double up Cubs
Gregory Fisher - USA Today Sports

Errors prove costly as Mets double up Cubs
by - Senior Writer - Wed May 01 08:22:44 GMT-04:00 2024

QUEENS—For the most part, the month of April has been a success for the Chicago Cubs (18-12). There have been plenty of ups and plenty of downs, but through all of that, this battled-tested group found a way to win 18 games. That is the most wins in franchise history for a month of April, which is telling when you look at how long this franchise has been around.

Looking to close out the month of April with another win, the Cubs continued their road trip at Citi Field as they faced Sean Manaea and the New York Mets (15-14). This was nearly a carbon copy of the game on Monday, where the Mets scored right from the start before seeing their offense stall out again.

Unlike Monday, when the Cubs found a way to rally later and get the job done, a pair of costly errors led to all of the Mets' offense, including a game-winning three-run homer by DJ Stewart off Adbert Alzolay in the sixth inning to give the Mets a 4-2 win. The loss took away another solid effort from Javier Assad, who continues to pitch extremely well for the Cubs.

Dating back to August 1 of last season, no pitcher in Major League Baseball has a better ERA than Assad as he entered the game with a 2.44 ERA since that time. That includes a 1.97 ERA this season, as he remains one of the biggest surprises in baseball. Assad may not be the most overpowering pitcher, but he has a knack for limiting hard contact, as he ranks fourth in the MLB when it comes to hard contact percentage.

Not to mention, he came into this game undefeated on the road for his career, and the numbers are just staggering for what he has been able to do. He gave the Cubs five innings of one run, one strikeout baseball. Like in their game on Monday, it was the Mets scoring first, needing just a few at-bats to take a 1-0 lead.

After Nick Madrigal made a great play to rob Brandon Nimmo to start the game, Francisco Lindor ripped one past Nico Hoerner to put a baserunner on base. That was the theme for most of the first inning and a large part of the early innings, as the Mets had no trouble finding Hoerner but also found ways to sneak the ball past him.

The critical play of the inning came with Pete Alonso at the plate as Assad picked Lindor off at first. Instead of having a two-out no, no-one-on situation, Patrick Wisdom airmailed his throw to second base, allowing Lindor to reach third. A few pitches later, it was Alonso flying out to center field, and instead of the inning being over, it was the Mets leading 1-0. New York picked up two more hits in the first, as three of their five hits off Assad came in the opening inning.

While Assad has been amazing and consistent this season, Manaea has been searching for his mojo in New York and was coming off a shaky outing last time. Manaea looked good in the first inning, but it was the walks that did him. He walked four and struck out three in five innings but still only gave up one run.

That run came in the second inning as the Cubs' patient approach started to raise his pitch count. That was much needed when you look at how quickly he got out of the first inning, as a pair of walks to Mike Tauchman and Nick Madrigal, mixed with a Dansby Swanson single, loaded the bases with one out. Miguel Amaya matched Alonso with a sacrifice fly to tie things up 1-1, but with this being the only run for the Cubs until late, you could view this as a missed opportunity.

Once the Cubs broke through, you started to see them keep the pressure on more consistently, with Ian Happ picking up a two-out walk in the third ahead of a Christopher Morel single, only to have those men stranded. On the other hand, New York couldn't do much the rest of the way against Assad, as he faced just two over the minimum in his final four innings to give the Cubs another good outing.

With both starters out of the game to begin the sixth, the Mets struck first, and it couldn't have come at a worse time. After losing his closer role a couple of weeks back, Adbert Alzolay is doing what he is asked to do to regain the trust of the team. This was one of those outings where he was the one charged with three runs, but with none of them earned, you can't put the blame on him.

That is because Swanson's defensive struggles are becoming a major concern this season, as his throwing error put a runner on base for the Mets and proved extremely costly. One batter after that error saw Jeff McNeil fly out, and what should have been a 1,2,3 inning was forced to continue. It also meant that Alzolay had to throw 17 more pitches than he should've, and after Tyrone Taylor singled up the middle, Stewart unloaded on an Alzolay cutter and launched into the second deck to give the Mets a 4-1 lead.

Home runs have been an issue for Alzolay, as that was the sixth homer he has allowed this season, but given that the inning was over, he will get more slack for this one than others. Trailing by three entering the ninth after Adam Ottavino and the Mets pen kept the Cubs offense quiet, Chicago was down to their final three outs and Jorge Lopez coming in to pitch.

Looking for another late-game rally, a leadoff double from Tauchman was a good start, as he has been the team's best hitter of late. Tauchman would eventually score on the Matt Mervis grounder two hitters later, but that was it for Chicago as they fell to New York 4-2.

The Cubs will look to get back on track Wednesday as they turn to their unbeaten rookie Shota Imanaga and his 0.98 ERA.

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