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Mets return to scene of last celebration and stumble against Cubs
- Updated: July 19, 2016
10:50 PM ET
CHICAGO — The last time the New York Mets played at Wrigley Field, champagne sprayed throughout the cramped visitors’ clubhouse. With a four-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series last October, the Mets had punched their first ticket to the World Series in 15 years.
Back in the Windy City on Monday, a different storyline is taking shape. And the Mets’ chances of returning to the postseason this October are unsettled.
Not grave. But definitely not assured.
Monday night’s start was another short one for Steven Matz, who completed just five innings and dropped to 0-5 in his past nine starts. AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast
Two weeks after the Mets swept a four-game series between the teams at Citi Field, Steven Matz surrendered a three-run homer to Anthony Rizzo in the third inning and the Cubs won, 5-1, in the series opener at Wrigley Field.
Jon Lester took a scoreless effort into the seventh inning, when Wilmer Flores delivered a solo homer — his MLB-leading sixth homer of the month. It was only the Mets’ third hit of the night, though.
Back in October, the Mets had such an embarrassment of starting pitching that Bartolo Colon and Jonathon Niese were assigned to the bullpen for the postseason.
These days, the Mets certainly are not the same team that steamrolled the Cubs in the NLCS.
Matt Harvey underwent surgery on Monday in St. Louis to address thoracic outlet syndrome. Matz is pitching with a bone spur in his pitching elbow that will need to be surgically removed no later than this offseason.
And, as the trade deadline approaches, there are no signs of a similar …
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