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| Nolan McLean fires a pitch in to Dansby Swanson in the third inning of Game 1. Photo by Jason Schott. |
The Mets hosted the Chicago Cubs in a doubleheader on Wednesday after dropping what turned into the series opener, 9-6, the night before.
GAME 1: CUBS 10, METS 3:
In the makeup game for Monday’s rainout, Nolan McLean took the mound for the Mets in this one, and he started the day by striking out the Cubs in order in the top of the first.
Carson Benge then greeted Cubs starter Javier Assad with a double to start off the Mets half of the first.
Then, A.J. Ewing crushed one to right field that old friend Michael Conforto made a marvelous catch on at the fence.
Benge tagged up to third on it, but he was left there, as Bo Bichette and Jared Young each struck out.
The Mets then had a golden opportunity in the second, as Francisco Alvarez and Brett Baty walked to open the frame. Marcus Semien then hit into a tailor-made double play before MJ Melendez struck out to end the threat.
The Mets broke through in the fourth when Young crushed a two-run home run to left, and Alvarez went back-to-back with a solo shot to make it 3-0.
It didn’t take long for Chicago to respond, as Pete Crow-Armstrong got a two-out single and came in on a Conforto double.
Michael Busch then crushed one off the facade in right field for a two-run homer to tie the game at 3.
Chicago then rallied in the sixth when Nico Hoerner doubled, Miguel Amaya beat out a single with two outs to bring Dansby Swanson to the plate, and he crushed a three-run shot to left field to make it 6-3 Chicago.
McLean then struck out PCA to end the sixth, and that was all for his afternoon. This was the final line for the young right-hander: 6 innings, 7 hits, 6 runs (all earned), 2 walks, 9 strikeouts.
Mets Manager Carlos Mendoza said of what changed for McLean after a strong start to the day, “Execution. You know, he gets to that fifth inning with two out, nobody on base, 0-2 to PCA there, and, you know, try to make him chase a changeup, then there’s a double, and then obviously, the two-run homer from Busch, trying to go up-and-in with a cutter, and then the last one there, with Swanson, two on, two out…he just left a pretty good fastball right in the middle there, and he clipped it. Yeah, frustrating one.”
Swanson put the game away in the eighth when he crushed a grand slam to left field off Jonathan Pintaro to give Chicago a 10-3 lead.
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| Dansby Swanson greeted at the plate after his grand slam. Photo by Jason Schott. |
This gave Swanson two homers and seven RBI on the afternoon, remarkable considering he entered the day hitting .189 with nine home runs and 35 RBI and was batting ninth.
Swanson now has four grand slams in his career, and this was the first one since August 26, 2024. It was his first multi-homer game of the season.
Combined with the four RBI he had on Tuesday night, he has 11 ribbies in two games, the most in his career. He became the fourth Cub to have at least 11 RBI in two games, as Sammy Sosa had 14 RBI on August 10 and 11, 2002, Andre Dawson (12 RBI on 6/1-2, 1987), and Keith Moreland (11 RBI on 6/2-3, 1987).
