The Mets beat the Chicago Cubs in a back and forth slugfest at Wrigley Field on Tuesday night, winning by a score of 9-7 and ascending back into the playoff picture.
Here are the takeaways…
-It was a game of momentum swings all night between the two ball clubs and New York had the first punch after Francisco Lindor led off the game with a solo shot on just the second pitch to give the Mets an instant 1-0 lead. The home run was Lindor's 10th leadoff blast of the season and 29th overall, putting him one shy of his second 30/30 season for New York where he would join Juan Soto and become just the third pair of teammates to accomplish the feat in the same year.
-The momentum quickly shifted in the bottom half of the inning after a crucial misplay by Soto cost David Peterson and the Mets two runs. With runners on second and third and two outs after a leadoff single, stolen base, walk and another stolen base, Peterson got Carlos Santana to lift one to right field that had plenty of air underneath it and looked like it would end the inning. However, Soto kept drifting back and was ultimately unable to catch it which allowed Chicago to take the lead on what was ruled a double that had a 17 percent hit probability, per Statcast.
-After his defense let him down in the first, Peterson had no one to blame but himself in the second where he allowed another three runs on three hits and a walk to put his team in a 5-1 hole. With each game of such importance this week, manager Carlos Mendoza pulled his lefty after 1.1 innings to try and keep New York within distance.
Meanwhile, Peterson's struggles have boiled over (7.63 ERA this month after a 6.68 ERA in August) and his role on the team moving forward has to be questioned.
–Jeff McNeil had a devil of a time in the fourth inning. The second baseman recorded two throwing errors on consecutive batters which brought home another run for the Cubs to give them a five-run lead.
-When all looked lost, the Mets' season may have been saved, at least temporarily, by a Dansby Swanson error in the fifth inning. With a runner on first base and one out, Francisco Alvarez grounded one to shortstop that looked like an easy, inning-ending double play. But the ball went over the glove of Swanson which put runners on second and third and gave New York a huge chance to capitalize with the top of the lineup coming up.
Lindor drove in a run with a groundout before Soto walked to bring up Pete Alonso who wasted no time and cracked the first pitch he saw high off the opposite field wall, just barely missing a three-run homer. The long single did make it 6-3 and kept the line moving for Brandon Nimmo who ignited his team by launching that three-run shot after all and tying the game. Nimmo's clutch home run was his career-high 25th of the year and he also set a career-high in RBI (91).
All five runs the Mets scored in the fifth were unearned, thanks to Swanson's error.
-Having come all the way back to tie it, New York took the lead in the sixth on a two-out RBI single by Lindor after McNeil started the two-out rally with a double followed by a walk to Alvarez. Lindor finished 2-for-5 with three RBI and a run scored and now has an 11-game hitting streak as he looks to guide the Mets back to the playoffs.
-The momentum swung back in the Cubs' favor in the bottom half of the inning much like it did for New York in the top half: with a two-out rally. Nico Hoerner started it with a single off Gregory Soto which brought in Tyler Rogers who walked Ian Happ. Seiya Suzuki took advantage and swung at the first pitch for a game-tying single.
-Unwavering throughout the entire game, the Mets went back in front in the eighth. Brett Baty's single started things off, but it looked like it would be another disappointing inning after Starling Marte popped up a bunt attempt and Pete Crow-Armstrong made a diving catch on McNeil's bloop to center field.
However, Alvarez called game with a monster two-run blast to put New York ahead, 9-7.
-In desperate need of this win after the Reds lost to the Pirates earlier, the Mets went to Edwin Diaz for a six-out save and he answered the call about as well as anybody could have hoped. The closer retired all six batters he faced and struck out five of them, including striking out the side to end the game and put New York back in the playoff picture for the time being.
Game MVP: Francisco Alvarez
You could go a lot of different ways here, but Alvarez's home run was the game-winner, and potentially season-saver, that New York had been looking for all season.
Highlights
FRANCSICO LINDOR LEADOFF HOMER! pic.twitter.com/GltlZ2r7rP
— SNY (@SNYtv) September 23, 2025
Juan Soto's 36th stolen base of the season! pic.twitter.com/cCsyc2BiMw
— SNY (@SNYtv) September 23, 2025
Pete Alonso with his 123rd RBI of the season as he drives a long single off the Wrigley Field ivy to cut the deficit to 6-3 pic.twitter.com/Yo7a5mPZwb
— SNY (@SNYtv) September 24, 2025
BRANDON NIMMO!
THE METS HAVE TIED IT AT 6-6! pic.twitter.com/QCiHhPXRvB— SNY (@SNYtv) September 24, 2025
FRANCISCO LINDOR.
His 3rd RBI of the night gives the Mets a 7-6 lead! pic.twitter.com/85FFhOGskc— SNY (@SNYtv) September 24, 2025
FRANCISCO ALVAREZ BLASTS A 2-RUN HOMER AND THE METS LEAD 9-7! pic.twitter.com/UG8EKzOpsz
— SNY (@SNYtv) September 24, 2025
STRUCK HIM OUT (x5!)
Edwin Díaz strikes out the side in the 9th to close out the 6-out save as the Mets reclaim the third NL Wild Card spot! pic.twitter.com/eclpK7DpWY
— SNY (@SNYtv) September 24, 2025
What's next
The Mets and Cubs continue their three-game series on Wednesday night with first pitch scheduled for 8:05 p.m. on ESPN.
RHP Jonah Tong (2-2, 5.94 ERA) will face off against LHP Matthew Boyd (13-8, 3.20 ERA).
Read the full article here
