Jon Lester Leads Cubs To 5-1 Win Over Troublesome Mets
CHICAGO (AP) -- Anthony Rizzo hit a three-run homer, Jon Lester pitched 7 2/3 innings and the Chicago Cubs stopped an eight-game losing streak against the New York Mets with a 5-1 victory on Monday night in a rematch of last year's NL Championship Series.
With one out and two on in the third inning, Rizzo fouled off five straight 2-2 pitches from Steven Matz before driving a changeup deep into the right-center bleachers for his 22nd homer.
The crowd of 41,353 cheered wildly as Rizzo rounded the bases on a picturesque night at Wrigley Field. The All-Star slugger is batting .339 with three homers and 10 RBIs in July.
The last time the Mets had visited the iconic neighborhood ballpark, they finished off a sweep of the Cubs to advance to the World Series. They swept Chicago again in New York from June 30 to July 3, roughing up Lester for one of the wins.
This time around was much different.
Lester (10-4) allowed one run -- Wilmer Flores' leadoff homer in the seventh -- and four hits in his first win in a month. David Ross added a sacrifice fly in the sixth, and Albert Almora Jr. singled in Matt Szczur in the eighth as the NL Central leaders won for the fourth time in five games since dropping five in a row.
Pedro Strop struck out Neil Walker with runners on first and second in the eighth. Hector Rondon replaced Carl Edwards Jr. with two runners on in the ninth and got Travis d'Arnaud to bounce into a game-ending double play for his 16th save.
Matz (7-6) was charged with four runs and eight hits in five-plus innings. The rookie left-hander dropped to 0-5 in his last nine starts.
Matz nearly had another run on his line, but left fielder Yoenis Cespedes cut down Willson Contreras with a perfect throw to the plate when the rookie tried to score from second on Szczur's third-inning single.
BREAK FOR ZOBRIST
Cubs second baseman Ben Zobrist rested for the second straight day. Manager Joe Maddon picked Sunday for a day off for the All-Star, and then decided to give him another day of rest.
"He told me yesterday that he wanted to give me two in a row," Zobrist said. "I think it will be good to be able to stay off my feet a little bit and try and get caught up. Just didn't feel like the break kind of helped me get caught up as much as I wanted it to."
The 35-year-old Zobrist started at second in the All-Star Game. He is batting .277 with 13 homers and 47 RBIs in his first season with the Cubs.
"It's absolutely his All-Star break," Maddon said. "I've talked about it from the beginning of the season, giving him appropriate time off when it's necessary."
TRAINER'S ROOM
Cubs: OFs Dexter Fowler (right hamstring strain) and Jorge Soler (left hamstring strain) were traveling to Iowa and are expected to begin their rehab stints with the Triple-A club on Tuesday. Fowler could return to the Cubs by the end of the week. "That would be the optimal situation," Maddon said.
UP NEXT
All-Star RHPs Noah Syndergaard of the Mets and Jake Arrieta of the Cubs face off on Tuesday. Syndergaard (9-4, 2.56 ERA) was removed from last start on July 8 due to arm fatigue. "I think the rest has been good for him," Collins said. Arrieta (12-4, 2.68 ERA) is looking to get back on track after allowing four or more earned runs in three consecutive starts for the first time since 2012.
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