Javier Assad Guides Chicago Cubs to Win Over Vaunted New York Mets

Javier Assad gave the Chicago Cubs six strong innings to help the team take its series opener against the New York Mets.

The Chicago Cubs opened up their series against the New York Mets Monday, sending righty Javier Assad to the bump facing Chris Bassitt.

New York entered the game clinging to a 1.5-game lead over the Atlanta Braves for the NL East crown, while the Cubs had long ago fallen out of the postseason race. But with so many players looking to make an impression, one can never count the Cubs out of contention in a single game.

Assad is one such player, and the 25-year-old helped give the Cubs a series-opening win by a score of 5-2. The Mexico-native worked through runners on base consistently throughout the night, but managed contact well, got some timely strikeouts and was able to navigate his way through six strong innings.

Assad set that trend early on in the bottom of the 1st inning with the bases loaded, the righty was able to strike out Mark Canha looking to escape the frame with no runs allowed.

The Cubs then gifted Assad a run in the next half inning when Rafael Ortega launched his seventh home run of the season to right field and gave Chicago a 1-0 lead. Assad then work one of two 1-2-3 innings of the evening in the bottom of the second. 

The Cubs followed, giving the righty even more of a cushion when Zach McKinstry hit his third home run of the year, this one a two-run blast that scored Alfonso Rivas and gave Chicago a 3-0 lead. McKinstry finished the night 2-for-4, one of three Cubs with multiple hits including Seiya Suzuki and Rafael Ortega. 

McKinstry is another player fighting for a roster spot in 2023 so his recent hot streak is imperative to show he can be a solid piece for the team going forward. 

After another scoreless frame for the Mets, the Cubs tacked on two more runs on RBI singles from Ortega and Rivas that ended Chris Bassitt's day after just 3.2 innings. Bassitt allowed five runs on seven baserunners and struck out just two batters. 

Assad faltered a bit in the fourth, allowing his first run on a James McCann single but recovered to strike out Brandon Nimmo on his go-to pitch, the cutter, to strand two more baserunners.

Assad allowed just one more baserunner over his final two innings before ending his outing with a strike out of Tyler Naquin who swung at a changeup out of the zone.  Overall, the young righty stranded seven baserunners in his six innings of work, striking out six and allowing just one run.

The Cubs offense went largely dormant for the rest of the evening, leaving it up to the bullpen to preserve the four-run lead. Mark Leiter Jr. worked a 1-2-3 seventh, but trouble arose in the eighth when a Jeff McNeil infield single chased Leiter from the game. 

Manuel Rodriguez then entered and allowed the first two runners he faced to reach, loading the bases with no one out. Canha again step to the plate in a big situation. But once more the big lefty struck out, this time swinging at a Rodriguez slider. Ross lifted Rodriguez for the often-reliable Brandon Hughes to get the final two outs. 

Hughes needed only three pitches to retire Eduardo Escobar, who flew out to shallow center before Darin Ruf stepped to the plate. He sent a 1-2 slider on a line to right field with an expected batting average of .540 according to Baseball Savant. However, the ball found Suzuki's glove, ending the threat with no runs scored. 

Though Francisco Lindor would homer in the bottom of the ninth, Hughes shut the Mets down otherwise and secured Chicago's 59th win of the season. 

The Cubs will have their work cut out for them in their next contest as the Mets send Jacob Degrom to the bump to face Cubs righty, Adrian Sampson. The game starts at 6:10 p.m. CDT Tuesday.  

More From SI's Inside The Cubs

1. Could Mike Trout Request a Trade to the Chicago Cubs?
2. Did David Robertson Net the Cubs a Future Star in Ben Brown?
3. Hoerner is the Cubs Shortstop of the Future
4. Cubs Could Give Canario a Shot in September
5. Could the Cubs Land Trea Turner in the Offseason?
6. Chicago Cubs Have a New Top Prospect in Their Rankings
7. Is This Top Cubs Prospect Destined for the Mound at Wrigley?
8. Steele Offers Glimpse Into Future of Cubs Rotation
9. Do the Chicago Cubs Have the National League's Best Bullpen?
10. Can Christopher Morel be a Long-Term Solution in Center cuField?

---

Make sure to follow Inside the Cubs on Twitter!