Mets hold slim edge in NL wild-card race with 8-5 win over Cubs

The Mets beat the Cubs 8-5 at Wrigley Field on Thursday night to preserve a one-game lead for the National League's final wild-card berth. Cincinnati had won earlier, and Arizona lost to the Dodgers, leaving New York two games up on both teams in the NL wild-card chase. Because the Mets do not own the tiebreaker against either Cincinnati or Arizona, the final weekend's results will determine which club advances to face the Dodgers in next week's wild-card round. New York opens a series in Miami, while Cincinnati visits Milwaukee and Arizona plays in San Diego.

Nolan McLean, the Mets' de facto ace down the stretch, worked into the sixth inning but could not escape trouble, yielding five runs on five hits and two walks over 5 1/3 innings. He struck out a career-high 11, and his ERA rose to 2.06. The Mets staked him to a cushion before first pitch, with Pete Alonso's double setting up two on and Lindor drawing a walk, and Brett Baty punching a three-run homer to left off Shota Imanaga. Lindor then homered in the third to make it 3-0, and the Mets became the first team in franchise history to have three players—Juan Soto, Alonso and Lindor—hit at least 30 homers in a season. Lindor and Soto also joined MLB history by becoming the third pair of teammates to reach 30 homers and 30 steals in the same season.

Baty's fourth-inning three-run shot extended the lead to 6-0, as Nimmo and Luis Torrens singled before Baty's hit off left-hander Shota Imanaga. McLean then allowed Seiya Suzuki's two-out homer in the fourth to cut the deficit to 6-1. Dansby Swanson added a fifth-inning homer for the Cubs to make it 6-2.

In the seventh, Tyrone Taylor delivered a two-run double that pushed the cushion to 8-2 after Nimmo and Torrens again singled ahead of Taylor's shot from the right-center field. Suzuki answered with his second homer of the game, a three-run blast in the sixth that pulled Chicago within 8-5 and chased McLean from the mound.

Relief pitchers slammed the door from there, with Ryne Stanek, Brooks Raley, Tyler Rogers and Edwin Diaz combining for 3 2/3 scoreless innings to close it out.

The Mets' win leaves the NL wild-card picture unsettled with one weekend remaining. The Reds own a one-game lead over New York, and Arizona sits two back; the Mets and Reds do not own the head-to-head tiebreaker, so the final order will hinge on weekend results. The Mets will face the Marlins in Miami to start the three-game set, while Cincinnati visits Milwaukee and Arizona heads to San Diego. One team will advance to face the Dodgers in the NL wild-card round next week.