Series 6 Mets at Cubs

    Game 1

    Both pitchers started off looking good in this one. The conditions were pitching friendly and they took advantage. The Mets gifted the Cubs a run in the 3rd. Sogard walked was sacrificed to second and then Davis made an error on a routine grounder that gave the Cubs the lead. The Cubs would get 2 more runs in the 4th when Heyward got a hit, stole second, and scored on Sogards single to left-center. The Cubs then loaded the bases and Contreras walked to get another run before Rizzo struck out to end the threat. The Mets would get a run back in the 5th when Davis redeemed himself with a long solo homer. That would be Arrieta's last inning as he had another solid start with 1 run in 5 innings. The bullpen held the Mets down and Kimbrel was nervy for the first time but got out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth with a strikeout and groundout.

    Game 2

    The Mets started off hot in this one. Lindor hit a solo shot in the first and Davis double drove in a run in the third. The Cubs went off in the fourth for 7 runs. Everyone got involved as they combined for 6 hits a walk while the Mets had 3 errors. Quite the inning with the 5th yielding 3 more runs for the Cubs after the Mets got 2 of their own on Alonso's 2 run homer. Then the Cubs got another 4 runs on a Baez Grand Slam! The Cubs added 2 runs on the 8th for good measure. Mills was solid from the pen with 3 scoreless innings as well as Miller adding a scoreless inning.

    Game 3

    The Cubs jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third in this one. Contreras had an infield hit and Bryant had 2 run-scoring double. The Mets responded in the 4th with 2 runs on an Alonso homer. The teams traded zeros for a while as Williams had another solid outing with 2 runs in 5 innings. The Mets tied it up in the seventh though when Davis hit a double and Villar scored. Neither team could score as the Cubs blew a golden opportunity when Marisnick Tripled to lead off the eighth. Romine pooped out, while Happ and Contreras struck out. In the tenth Winkler got out of it without any runs after an early wild pitch getting a strikeout followed by a double play after walking two men to load the bases. In the bottom half of the inning, The Cubs got men on second and thirds following a sacrifice bunt by Bote. The Mets intentionally walked Sogard to load the bases and the Cubs would walk it off on Heyward's pinch-hit single to right!

    The good

    There was a lot of good in the Series. First off sweeping a contending team and getting back to .500. Also getting good starts from Arrieta and Williams continues to be encouraging as they have kept the team in close games. The offense was opportunistic in the bookends while exploding for 16 runs in the second game. The bullpen was solid with 3 runs in 14 innings combined. Getting a momentum of not only a series win but a sweep could be huge for this team going forward.

    The bad

    Davies start in the second game is discouraging. Lasting only 4 innings is not good enough going forward. The injury to Pederson is also not great. The outfield is a little thin now and hopefully can hold up while he's out. The offense was also not great overall with only 10 hits in the bookend games combined.

    Looking ahead

    The Cubs have a crucial series with the Brewers this weekend. The Brewers are the only team ahead of the Cubs in the standings and a series win would be big. That would close the gap and make the Cubs true contenders early in the season. The Cubs also don't have another off day until May 6th so the depth of the team will be tested during this stretch as every series is against a contending team.