Mets Bamboozle Cubs to Win Game, Series

That was ugly. In every way. The Chicago Cubs (51-30) got absolutely mauled today by the New York Mets (44-37). And honestly, this post could stop right there and you’d have all you needed to know about this one. But, I’m here to provide more than just that, or at least a little more.

The Mets put up seven runs in the bottom of the second inning against Jon Lester (9-4, 2.67 ERA), who entered the game today with a 2.03 ERA. Lester was pulled from the game after giving up eight total runs through 1 1/3 innings. The shortest start of his career, this after just being awarded the NL pitcher of the month for June.

It didn’t get any better after Lester left the game. A lot of Mets did a lot of damage and that’s really, simply the best way to put it. The Mets hammered out 22 hits on their way to a 14-3 pounding over the Cubs (Box Score).

Stats that mattered

• Lester was way off – 1.1IP, 8R, 9H, 1BB, 2Ks, 3HR
• The bullpen wasn’t any better – 6.2IP, 6R, 13H, 6Ks, 2HR
• Congrats to Jeimer Candelario on his first major league hit – 1-for-4

Bottom line

Hold on tight, this is turing into a rough ride all of the sudden. The good news is that the Cubs get the Reds and the Pirates next, two teams they’ve absolutely dominated this year. There’s also one game against Atlanta – a make-up game – sandwiched in between. So, honestly, it’s not out of the question to think the Cubs could easily win six or seven of the next seven games heading into the all-star break. And then, we’d all have forgotten about this weekend. That’s what I’m hoping for at least.

Next up

The Cubs come back home, right when they need the home cooking, to take on the Cincinnati Reds on July 4th at 1:20 PM CDT. Kyle Hendricks (6-6, 2.76) is set to pitch for the Cubs.