The Mets comeback only to blow the lead and lose to the Cubs

By Gary W. Marchese Jr.

Flushing,NY(September 10)-The New York Mets lost to the Chicago Cubs by the score of 5-4 on Saturday afternoon. Chris Capuano started and pitched very well. Bobby Parnell blew his fifth save and took the loss. He is trying to learn the job of closer and has not been doing a very good job of it. Jason Bay continues to finish the season strong and Lucas Duda and David Wright also had good games.

Capuano pitched seven innings giving up five hits and two runs with one of them being earned. He walked one and struck out six. Ryota Igarashi pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits and one run and he struck out one, Daniel Herrera struck out the only batter that he faced and Parnell pitched one inning giving up two hits and two runs with a strikeout.

Jose Reyes had a hit and an RBI, Ruben Tejada had a hit and Duda had two hits. Wright had two hits and an RBI, Bay had two hits and two RBI and Nick Evans had a hit. Mike Nickeas had a hit, Jason Pridie and Willie Harris had a walk. Duda and Reyes each had a double, the Mets were 3-9 with runners in scoring position and they left six men on base. Wright and Pagan each had a stolen base, Bay was picked off. Reyes and Wright each had two errors. Capuano picked off a runner.

In the first inning the Cubs took a 1-0 lead on an error by Reyes. In the fifth inning Reed Johnson reached on a force attempt and error by Reyes allowing a run to score and making it 2-0 Cubs. In the eighth inning Marlon Byrd hit an RBI double to make it 3-0 Cubs. In the bottom of the eighth Reyes hit an RBI double, Wright had an RBI single and Bay had a two run single to give the Mets a 4-3 lead. Aramis Ramirez hit a two run single to give the Cubs the 5-4 lead. The game would end 5-4 in favor of the Cubs.

The Mets and Cubs have split the first two games of their three game series. The Mets record dropped to 71-74 on the season and the Cubs improved their record to 63-82. The Mets are trying to reach the 500 mark but they just can’t seem to get there. They win some and they lose some, they are never too far away yet they can’t sustain a winning streak to get there or above. Bay has continued to really show something in the final month of the season. The Mets are hoping the changes that Bay has made will last through the end of the season and he can carry it into next season. The two teams will play the rubber game of the series on Sunday night. The game on Sunday will also be played on September 11th, the tenth anniversary and the Mets will have a special pregame ceremony. It should be an emotional night for everyone involved.