Playing their first game in five months in which they were not in a playoff spot, the New York Mets overcame a five-run deficit and rode Francisco Alvarez’s dramatic eight-inning two-run home run to defeat the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Tuesday night.
The catcher, who has dealt with multiple injuries and a minor-league demotion this season, launched the two-out, two-run shot with two outs in the eighth inning against Cubs reliever Caleb Thielbar to cap off the Mets’ largest comeback victory of the season.
Trailing 6-1 in the fifth, New York reeled off five runs — four of them coming with two outs — headlined by Bradon Nimmo’s game-tying three-run home run.
Coupled with the Cincinnati Reds’ loss on Tuesday, the Mets (81-76) now hold a one-game lead for the third and final Wild Card spot in the National League.
The Mets trailed 6-1 behind the latest disaster from starting pitcher David Peterson, who continues to look like a shell of his former self, which was an All-Star during the first half of the season.
Francisco Lindor led the game off with a home run to give New York a slim lead, but Peterson imploded shortly afterward, lasting a season-worst 1.1 innings while allowing five runs on five hits.
With two outs and two men on in the bottom of the first, Carlos Santana ripped a two-RBI double to put the Cubs in front. The hosts blew it open in the second after Peterson allowed a lead-off walk and single. Nico Hoerner drove in one with an RBI knock, followed by Ian Happ’s two-run double to make it a 5-1 game.
It was the last batter Peterson would face, as manager Carlos Mendoza opted to bring in Huascar Brazoban, who helped begin the salvaging of a lost night.
The Mets bullpen went 7.2 innings and allowed just one run on four hits with 10 strikeouts — Gregory Soto was the lone arm to allow an earned Cub to cross the plate in the sixth.
But New York mounted a monster two-out rally in the fifth to save their season, for now. With men on second and third with one out, Lindor drove in his second run of the night with a groundout. Following a Juan Soto walk, Pete Alonso singled to make it a three-run game and put two men on for Nimmo.
The veteran outfielder jumped on an 0-1 hanging sweeper and lifted it 388 feet into the right-field seats to tie the game at six apiece. It also gave Nimmo new career highs with 25 home runs and 91 RBI.
After the teams traded runs in the sixth, Brett Baty led off the eighth with a single and looked destined to be stranded, but Alvarez worked a 3-1 count against Thielbar and lined the go-ahead home run to center field to put the Mets up.
Closer Edwin Diaz was untouchable in his six-out save, striking out five Cubs in what was his third night of work in the last four days.
For more on the Mets, visit AMNY.com
