New York Mets rally to beat Chicago Cubs 7-6 in 11 innings
Francisco Lindor delivered a pair of two-run doubles off the bench, rallying the New York Mets past the Chicago Cubs 7-6 in 11 innings Thursday for a split of their four-game series.
Right fielder Starling Marte made two rocket throws in extra innings, cutting down Cubs runners at the plate to end the 10th and 11th. Brandon Nimmo had two RBIs for the Mets, who overcame a 4-0 deficit to salvage a 3-4 homestand.
Daniel Palencia (0-1) drilled Harrison Bader with a pitch to begin the bottom of the 11th. Lindor, who didn't start after leaving Wednesday night's game early with flu-like symptoms, lashed a sharp grounder inside third base and down the left-field line to score automatic runner Brett Baty and Bader.
Nick Madrigal gave Chicago a 6-5 lead in the top of the 11th with a run-scoring double on the first pitch from Danny Young (1-0) in his Mets debut.
Mets closer Edwin Díaz pitched two hitless innings, retiring all five batters he faced in his first outing of more than one inning since missing last season following knee surgery.
Christopher Morel hit a three-run homer for the Cubs, who stole six bases. Pete Crow-Armstrong, traded by the Mets in July 2021 a year after they drafted him in the first round, had two RBIs.
New York catchers have thrown out only one runner attempting to steal this season.
A sloppy fielding error by reliever Keegan Thompson helped New York score three times in the sixth. Lindor came through with a pinch-hit double off Thompson that scored two runs, and Nimmo's two-out RBI double against left-hander Richard Lovelady tied it 5-all.
Morel's fifth-inning drive off struggling Mets starter Adrian Houser gave Cubs rookie Ben Brown a 4-0 lead in his fourth major league start.
Pitching close to home, Brown held New York hitless through four innings. But he issued a leadoff walk in the fifth and yielded consecutive RBI singles to Nimmo and Marte.
A walk to DJ Stewart loaded the bases, and Brown was pulled with a multi-run lead one out short of qualifying for his first career win for the second time in 24 days. Thompson struck out slugger Pete Alonso to end the inning.
The 24-year-old Brown was raised on Long Island about 50 miles from Citi Field and attended Ward Melville High School, which also produced big league pitchers Steven Matz and Anthony Kay — both of whom were drafted by the Mets.
Brown was selected by Philadelphia in the 33rd round of the 2017 amateur draft and dealt to the Cubs for reliever David Robertson at the August 2022 trade deadline.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Cubs: LHP Justin Steele (left hamstring strain) will meet the team in Chicago this weekend and see the medical staff before it's determined whether he's ready to rejoin the rotation without another minor league rehab outing. Steele, on the injured list since getting hurt opening day, threw 63 pitches Wednesday for Triple-A Iowa. He allowed three runs and six hits in 3 1/3 innings. ... RHP Kyle Hendricks (lower back strain) was scheduled to throw about 75-80 pitches in a rehab start for Double-A Tennessee.
Mets: LHP Brooks Raley (left elbow inflammation) is expected to undergo another MRI. He won't be ready to come off the injured list Monday when first eligible, as previously hoped. "That's probably going to be longer than what we anticipated," manager Carlos Mendoza said. ... DH J.D. Martinez was rested. He singled as a pinch hitter leading off the seventh and stayed in the game until getting replaced by a pinch runner in the 10th.
UP NEXT
Cubs: RHP Hayden Wesneski (2-0, 0.87 ERA) makes his second start and fourth appearance of the year Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field against Milwaukee RHP Joe Ross (1-3, 5.40). It will be Chicago's first game this season within the NL Central.
Mets: LHP Jose Quintana (1-2, 3.48 ERA) starts Friday night at Tampa Bay against RHP Aaron Civale (2-2, 5.06). Quintana pitched eight innings of three-hit ball Sunday against St. Louis, his longest outing since September 2022 with St. Louis.
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