The Chicago Cubs hoped that the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field would turn around their series against the New York Mets, but after a 5-2 loss in Game 3 of the NLCS, they are one loss away from elimination.
Jorge Soler and Kyle Schwarber both hit home runs for the Cubs, but it wasn't enough as they lost their third straight game to the Mets and their sixth consecutive NLCS game overall.
The game got off to an inauspicious start as Curtis Granderson reached on an error by Javier Baez, but he was erased when he tried to steal second and was thrown out by Miguel Montero. David Wright looped a single to left field, and with two outs, he scored as Yoenis Cespedes laced a double to make it a 1-0 game in favor of the Mets.
In the bottom of the first inning, the Cubs responded. With one out, Kyle Schwarber reached out and clubbed an opposite field home run to left field, his fifth of the postseason, and tied the game up at 1-1. Anthony Rizzo and Starlin Castro both reached base with two outs, but Jorge Soler grounded out to end the inning.
Kyle Hendricks managed to work out of a second inning jam by forcing a double play from Jacob deGrom, but the third inning was a different story. With two outs, Daniel Murphy slugged his fifth home run of the postseason to give the Mets a 2-1 lead.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Soler got a 3-1 count, and he took advantage of it. On an outside fastball, Soler blasted a deep home run to center field to tie the game up at 2-2 and sent Wrigley Field into a frenzy.
In the top of the sixth, things got downright zany at Wrigley Field. With two outs and Cespedes on third base, Michael Conforto struck out swinging, but when the ball got away from him, Cespedes was able to score and Conforto reached first to give the Mets a 3-2 lead. In the next at-bat, Wilmer Flores hit the ball to right field, but it got past Soler for a surefire extra-base hit.
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Unfortunately for the Mets, the ball became lodged in the ivy, making it an automatic ground rule double and stranding Conforto at third. deGrom had an opportunity to drive in the runs, but he was unable to as he flew out to Schwarber to end the inning.
The Cubs were unable to take advantage of the huge break as they went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the frame, and the Mets made them pay with two more runs in the top of the seventh inning. Wright scored on a Cespedes infield single to make it 4-2, and then Murphy scored on a ground ball to first as Rizzo snared the ball, touched the base, and threw slightly late to the plate as the Mets took a commanding 5-2 lead.
The Cubs couldn't get anything going in any of the final three innings of the game as deGrom, Tyler Clippard, and Jeurys Familia all worked through the lineup quickly and efficiently, and as a result they find themselves one loss away from extending their championship drought.
The Cubs will try to stave off elimination on Wednesday night when they play the Mets in Game 4 of the series at Wrigley Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:07 p.m.
