Cubs strike out season-high 24 times vs. Mets, still win in extras

NEW YORK -- The irony for the Chicago Cubs is that even though they've been reducing their high strikeout games at the plate, every so often they get into one that makes the history books. It happened again Saturday, in their 7-1, 14-inning victory against the New York Mets.

According to ESPN Stats & Information research, the Cubs' MLB-season-high 24 strikeouts were the second-most in a win by any team since the mounds were moved to their current distance in 1893. According to Elias, the Cubs are the third team since that same year to have multiple 20-strikeout games in the same season, as they also struck out 20 times on March 30 against the Miami Marlins.

Mets starter Jacob deGrom accumulated most of the whiffs on Saturday, with 13 in his seven innings of work.

"He was unbelievable," Albert Almora Jr.said after the 4-hour, 53-minute game. "It's been a while since I faced a pitcher like that. Everything was moving away from my barrel. His fastball had some late life, his slider was sharp, and he threw me one of the nastiest changeups I've ever seen."

Almora struck out three times but was the hero, as he hit a two-run double to right-center in the 14th inning to break a 1-1 tie. The Cubs scored six runs total in the 14th, tied for the fourth-most in that inning in the past 30 seasons. It was all part of a crazy night in which the teams combined for a 2018 major-league-high 39 strikeouts, yet the Cubs also had 17 hits.

For the Cubs, Mike Montgomery pitched six innings of two-hit ball, and reliever Luke Farrell pitched five innings in relief as the game went into extras.

"I'm a lot chippier and happier right now because we won," manager Joe Maddon said. "Had we not won that game with all those opportunities, it would have been difficult ... We just have to move the ball. We started chasing again tonight."

Maddon asked reporters if anyone had struck out so much in a win, forgetting that the New York Yankeesbeat the Cubs last season when both teams struck out more than 20 times. Part of the reason the Cubs were stuck on one run for so long is that they struck out five times with the bases loaded alone.

"When you get guys like this [deGrom], the secret for me is when you get a chance to score with an out, move the baseball," Maddon said before the game.

The plan failed miserably against deGrom, but the Cubs hung in there, taking the first three games of the series while accumulating 45 hits. Even with all those swing-and-misses, it worked out.

"We played defense, made some great plays again," Maddon said. "Great at-bats, got people out there [on the bases], saw a lot of pitches, did all the right things, but then here comes the guy in scoring position. We just have to figure that out. I'm not the only manager saying that. A lot of managers are saying the same thing."