The Mets fell behind early and couldn’t dig themselves out of a hole, falling to the Chicago Cubs 10-3 on Wednesday night at Wrigley Field.
Jonah Tong surrendered five runs in the third inning, and it wasn’t until the fifth inning that the Mets got their first hit of the game. They finished the game with just four hits, one walk, and one hit batter.
The loss didn’t cost them too dearly, as the Pirates hung on to beat the Reds 4-3 in 11 innings and the Dodgers hung on to beat the Diamondbacks 5-4 in 11 innings, meaning New York is still 1.0 game ahead of Cincinnati and Arizona for the final NL Wild Card spot with four games to play.
Here are the takeaways…
– Tong surrendered a leadoff double to the right-center gap to start the bottom of the first and, after getting squeezed by home plate umpire D.J. Reyburn on a 2-2 changeup on the corner, issued a walk to put two men on base with nobody out. But Tong kept the Cubs off the board: First getting Ian Happ swinging at a changeup below the zone, then, on a Moisés Ballesteros single up the middle, Tyrone Taylor – in his first start off the IL – gunned down Michael Busch at the plate with a perfect throw and a sweeping tag from Francisco Alvarez, and closed the door with Seiya Suzuki grounding out to third.
An eventful, but not overly taxing first inning (22 pitches) was followed by an easy-breezy 1-2-3 second on just 12 pitches with three outs to center. But Tong was in a big jam in the third after a bloop single, a walk, and a single to left loaded the bases with nobody down.
The young righty paid the price: Happ yanked a changeup down the line at first that just stayed fair over the bag for a two-run double, Ballesteros bounced an RBI single past a diving Mark Vientos, on a ball he probably should have snagged as he was playing in and on the line, and Suzuki pulled an RBI double down the third base line.
That ended Tong’s night with Richard Lovelady entering with two in scoring position and nobody out. The lefty put out the fire with a strikeout, sac fly, and strikeout to limit it to a 5-0 Chicago lead. Tong’s final line: five runs on seven hits and two walks with one strikeout in 2.0 innings on 56 pitches (38 strikes). His ERA is now at 7.71 through 18.2 big league innings as Chicago jumped all over his two-pitch mix as he threw his fastball or changeup on all but five of his offerings.
– Lovelady, needing to put up zeroes and outs, was stung for a solo home run off Matt Shaw’s bat to start the fourth, but thanks to diving plays from Brandon Nimmo and Vientos, he got three more outs for the beleaguered bullpen.
– Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd retired the first six Mets he faced before issuing a leadoff walk to Alvarez to start the third, but was left stranded there. Boyd got through the first four innings without allowing a hit on 56 pitches before Vientos smoked a single past the third baseman to lead off the fifth. And with one down in the inning, Alvarez smashed a changeup up right down the middle for a two-run home run to left (417 feet, 106.6 mph off the bat). That cut the deficit to 6-2, but the Mets never got any closer.
Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto both started the night 0-for-3 off the Cubs’ left-hander before he departed with one out in the sixth. Daniel Palencia entered to get Alonso to fly out and Starling Marte swinging, meaning the top of the Mets’ order started the night 0-for-12 with two strikeouts.
Soto got that gang's first hit of the night, cranking an up-and-away cutter 397 feet to left center for his 43rd home run of the season. The solo homer was just smoked: 105.1 mph off the bat. He finished 1-for-4. But Lindor was 0-for-4, Alonso 0-for-4 with two strikeouts, and Marte 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
– Clay Holmes, who threw 57 pitches Sunday, entered after Lovelady issued a leadoff walk in the fifth. After getting the first two outs on groundouts, Alonso couldn’t scoop Vientos’ throw in the dirt to plate another run on the throwing error, the speedy Pete Crow-Armstrong on second. And after a wild pitch, Holmes was late to cover the plate, allowing PCA to score all the way from second to make it 8-2.
After Holmes' 14-pitch inning of work, Sean Manaea, who threw 50 pitches Sunday, entered and allowed a leadoff single to Shaw, who promptly swiped second base. Busch then turned on a sweeper right down the middle for a 376-foot homer to right that just carried through the wind into the first row of seats to make it 10-2. The lefty got a strikeout in a 16-pitch inning of work. That could still have those two in line to pitch on Saturday in Miami.
– Ryan Helsley needed nine pitches for a 1-2-3 seventh, with a strikeout. He allowed a single in the eighth, but added another strikeout. He's now put up five-straight scoreless outings, allowing just two hits and two walks in that six-inning span.
– Taylor’s throw home in the first was clocked at 95.2 mph, the Mets’ fastest outfield assist of the season and the fastest of Taylor’s career, per Sarah Langs. He finished the night 0-for-3 at the plate.
Highlights
WELCOME BACK TYRONE TAYLOR!
He throws out Michael Busch at the plate to prevent the game's first run!
(via @ESPN) pic.twitter.com/g8Zw4XHHas
— SNY (@SNYtv) September 25, 2025
Francisco Alvarez goes deep with a 2-run shot for the second straight night at Wrigley and gets the Mets on the board
(via @ESPN) pic.twitter.com/qIXsLV7ynf
— SNY (@SNYtv) September 25, 2025
Juan Soto's 43rd home run of the season
(via @ESPN) pic.twitter.com/erERhfOqsK
— SNY (@SNYtv) September 25, 2025
What's next
The Mets and Cubs conclude their series Thursday night with first pitch scheduled for 7:40 p.m. on SNY.
Right-hander Nolan McLean (1.27 ERA and 1.008 WHIP in 42.2 innings) gets his eighth start of the season with the home side sending out left-hander Shota Imanaga (3.37 ERA and 0.957 WHIP in 139 innings) for his 25th start.
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