Mets, Cubs clash in race for wild-card spot

The New York Mets host the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday in the opener of a three-game series that has National League wild-card implications.

Marcus Stroman (7-11, 3.18 ERA) is scheduled to take the mound for the Mets against the Cubs' Yu Darvish (4-6, 4.43 ERA) in a battle of right-handers.

Each team was swept last week, the Cubs dropping three games to the Washington Nationals, while the Mets fell to the Atlanta Braves in a three-game set. Both teams were off Monday after losing in narrow fashion at home Sunday. The Cubs were beaten 7-5 in 11 innings; the Mets lost 2-1.

The sweeps negated the progress both teams made at home earlier in the week, when the Mets swept a three-game series from the Cleveland Indians and the Cubs took three straight from the San Francisco Giants.

"If we'd taken at least one in that series, you leave (these) six games 4-2," Mets manager Mickey Callaway said. "Instead, we're 3-3."

Said Cubs manager Joe Maddon: "We had a chance at a 4-2 homestand just by winning today. And that went away, just became a .500 homestand."

The weekend could have been much better for the Mets, who stranded six runners on base in the extra innings of a 2-1, 14-inning loss on Friday. They also squandered a one-run lead in Saturday's 9-5 defeat and left the tying and winning runs on base in the ninth inning Sunday.

But it didn't cost them anything in the wild-card race, where New York remains two games behind the Cubs, who occupy the second wild card.

"We talk about it, trying to win series," Mets third baseman Todd Frazier said Sunday afternoon. "We've got three games against them. So we win two out of three, we're back to one."

Being swept by the Nationals was more damaging to the Cubs, who fell from the top of the NL Central to 2 1/2 games back of the surging St. Louis Cardinals, who moved into first place with a four-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies.

The loss Sunday was filled with what-if moments for the Cubs, who had the winning run on base in the ninth inning and missed winning in walk-off fashion by a few feet in the 10th when Nicholas Castellanos' fly ball was caught just in front of the centerfield wall.

"We've just got to keep pressing forward," Maddon said. "Of course (it's) frustrating. We're disappointed. But you can't let it linger."

Neither Stroman nor Darvish factored into the decision in their most recent starts last Wednesday.

Stroman allowed one run over four innings before departing with a tight left hamstring in the Mets' 4-3, 10-inning win over the Indians. Darvish gave up seven runs (six earned) over 5 1/3 innings in the Cubs' 12-11 win over the Giants.

Stroman twirled the only shutout of his big league career in his lone start against the Cubs on Sept. 8, 2014, when he tossed a three-hitter in the Toronto Blue Jays' 8-0 win. Darvish is 1-0 with a 3.91 ERA in four starts against the Mets.

--Field Level Media

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