Mets getting healthy in time to face struggling Cubs
NEW YORK -- The two most recent National League champions will be searching for their previous form Monday night when the New York Mets host the Chicago Cubs in the opener of a three-game series at Citi Field.
The Mets won their third consecutive game Sunday when they edged the Braves 2-1 in Atlanta. The Cubs snapped a four-game losing streak Sunday when they avoided being swept by the visiting Colorado Rockies, posting a 7-5 win at Wrigley Field.
The three-game winning streak by the Mets (28-33) coincides with the return of outfielder Yoenis Cespedes and starting pitchers Steven Matz and Seth Lugo from the disabled list.
Cespedes and Matz were activated Saturday, when Cespedes hit a grand slam in the opening game of a doubleheader before Matz earned the win in the nightcap by tossing seven strong innings. Lugo was activated Sunday, and he notched the victory by also throwing seven impressive frames.
Cespedes missed 37 games with hamstring and quad injuries. Lugo and Matz were each out all season due to elbow injuries.
"I think we're going to start seeing what we expected," Mets manager Terry Collins said following the Sunday win.
The Mets have not had a winning streak of longer than three games since a five-game run from April 9-13. On Monday, New York begins a 14-game stretch in which it plays teams -- the Cubs, Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants -- that made the playoffs last season.
"If we're going to get back in this, we've got to beat them," Collins said.
The Mets swept the Cubs in the National League Championship Series in 2015 before Chicago finally won the World Series last year for the first time since 1908. The year after has been a trying one for Joe Maddon's squad, which has been as many as four games over .500 just once in the first two-plus months.
"Our confidence has been nicked a little bit," Maddon said following the Sunday game. "It happens to everybody."
The Cubs (31-31) have already had four losing streaks of at least four games -- one more than they had all of last season. In the 18 games prior to Sunday, Chicago had a three-game winning streak, a six-game losing streak, a five-game winning streak and a four-game losing streak.
The Cubs hope a homer-happy victory on Sunday -- when they blasted four round-trippers -- will provide the jump-start to another winning streak.
"It was a really good win," said Kyle Schwarber, who hit one of the homers. "It was definitely a positive step today."
The Mets' Jacob deGrom will oppose the Cubs' John Lackey in a battle of right-handers Monday night.
DeGrom (4-3) took the loss last Tuesday, when he gave up eight runs over four innings as New York fell to the Rangers 10-8 at Texas. In his past two starts, deGrom has allowed a whopping 15 runs over eight innings, a stretch in which his overall ERA soared from 3.23 to a season-high 4.75.
Lackey (4-6, 5.12 ERA) dropped his third consecutive decision last Wednesday, when he surrendered five runs over six innings as the Cubs lost 6-5 to the Miami Marlins. He has allowed five runs three times in his last four starts, a stretch in which he has a 6.65 ERA.
DeGrom is 1-2 with a 5.31 ERA in four career regular-season starts against the Cubs. Lackey is 2-0 with a 2.14 ERA in five career regular-season starts against the Mets.
