Mets stumble in wild-card chase as Cubs rout at Wrigley

The New York Mets could ill afford another setback in the crowded NL wild-card chase, and Chicago made sure they got it, battering rookie Jonah Tong for a 10-3 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. The loss, coupled with a late-night result elsewhere, muddied the race for the third and final NL playoff berth as the Mets tried to hold off a cluster of pursuers in a pennant race that has tightened in September.

Tong’s worst night of the season underscored the risk of thrusting an unproven rookie into high-pressure October-like conditions. The 22-year-old right-hander lasted just two innings, yielding five earned runs on seven hits with two walks and one strikeout. He did not survive the third, and the Mets found themselves in a rapidly growing hole after Chicago loaded the bases and pushed across multiple runs before Tong exited.

After retiring the Cubs in order to start the game, Tong was undone in the third as Matt Shaw and Nico Hoerner delivered back-to-back singles and a walk to Michael Busch loaded the bases. Ian Happ followed with a two-run double, giving Chicago a 2-0 lead. Ballesteros added another RBI in the frame with a single, and Seiya Suzuki capped the inning with an RBI double that pushed the Cubs’ advantage to four. The Mets then watched as Chicago extended the lead by chasing Tong in the third.

New York finally found its footing briefly in the middle innings, but it was too late. Francisco Álvarez doubled off lefty Matthew Boyd for the Mets’ first hit in the third, then blasted a solo shot in the fifth, his second homer in as many games, to pull New York within 6-2. Mark Vientos singled to open the fifth, but the Mets could not sustain the rally. Álvarez’s second homer trimmed the deficit to four, and a throwing error by Vientos while attempting to nab a potential final out in the fifth extended Chicago’s lead before two more runs crossed on a sequence featuring a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly.

The Cubs continued to pull away in the middle innings. Matt Shaw homered leading off the fourth to push the lead to 6-0, and Chicago tacked on in the sixth when Busch connected for a two-run shot that widened the gap to 8-2. New York’s bullpen labored, and Chicago added another run on a later sequence that included a fielding miscue and a wild pitch.

In the sixth, Sean Manaea came on and allowed a two-run homer to Busch, effectively sealing the Mets’ fate in a 10-2 hole. The Mets finally broke through in the eighth when Juan Soto hit his 43rd homer of the season to cap the scoring at 10-3. It was a night that exposed the Mets’ vulnerabilities in a tight race where every win matters.

The loss dropped New York further in a crowded wild-card picture. The Reds beat the Pirates 4-3 in 11 innings, keeping them one game behind the Mets in the pursuit of the third wild card. Meanwhile, Arizona remained in position to reach a tie with New York by night’s end, after the Diamondbacks finished later in the day against the Dodgers. The tiebreaker between the Mets and Diamondbacks hinges on division record, and Arizona carried the edge, 25-21 to New York’s 24-25 within the NL West and NL East respectively.

The Mets and Cubs are scheduled to wrap up the series in a rubber game Thursday night, with de facto ace Nolan McLean slated to start for New York against left-hander Shota Imanaga. McLean has pitched to a 1.27 ERA over seven major-league starts since a Aug. 29 call-up, offering a potential spark for a Mets club that is gambling on a late-season surge to secure a playoff spot.

The Mets’ offense had been stifled for much of the night until Álvarez found a spark, his two long balls highlighting a night where New York’s typically patient approach yielded little against a Cubs starter lineup that stymied the Mets from the outset. The Mets’ defense also contributed to the collapse, with Vientos’ error helping Chicago add to its cushion in the fifth.

As the season nears its conclusion, the Mets must navigate a treacherous path to the postseason, with multiple scenarios in play depending on how Arizona and Cincinnati perform down the stretch and how the tiebreakers shake out. The resilience required is significant, and the team will need strong starts and fewer miscues if they hope to maintain their hold on a wild-card berth.