New York Mets Fall 4-1 to Chicago Cubs, Lose Home Series at Citi Field
The New York Mets are fighting for their first National League East division title since 2016.
Entering play June 2, the Mets had a 35-17 record, and the next-closest team — the Atlanta Braves — was 10.5 games back of their division-lead. The Braves were 24-27 at the time.
Since, the Braves have caught them. After going back and forth for the division lead last week, the Mets owned a 1.5-game lead entering Monday, beginning a weeklong stretch where they would be playing seven home games against the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates.
Some pundits had argued that the remaining strength of schedule would give the Mets a clear advantage, but if we've learned anything about baseball it's that any team can lose on any given day.
The Cubs entered New York Monday, losers of their last six series. Tuesday night, against Mets ace Jacob deGrom, they secured a series win, and now have a chance to sweep the Mets at Citi Field on Wednesday.
Cubs starting pitcher Adrian Sampson threw six scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and four walks, striking out three. Though the Cubs bullpen once again allowed their opponent to score, it did not blow Tuesday's game, perhaps giving it something to build off of moving forward.
The Mets fall to 89-54 and now lead the Braves just by 0.5 games. They'll finish out their series with the Cubs Wednesday, before playing host to the Pirates at Citi Field for four games, running from Thursday through Sunday.
The Braves picked up a key victory on the West Coast Tuesday night, topping the Giants 5-1, improving to 88-54.
