Tylor Megill put the Mets behind the eight ball and the offense couldn’t recover in New York’s 8-1 loss to the Cubs in Chicago on Saturday afternoon.
Here are the takeaways…
-A day after the Mets took it to Shota Imanaga and the Cubs, Chicago returned the favor. The Cubs sent nine men to the plate and scored five runs on four hits and two walks off of Megill.
The five runs tied a season-high for Megill who needed 38 pitches to get out of the first. Per the broadcast, it’s the first time the Mets gave up four-plus runs in the first inning since September 2022, against the Cubs.
Megill would settle down to get through three innings — with his only blemish being a Christopher Morel solo shot in the third — but the big righty was not effective.
Megill pitched three innings (78 pitches/45 strikes) and gave up six runs on five hits, and three walks while striking out six batters. His ERA rose from 3.52 to 4.81.
-On the other side, Jameson Taillon stymied the Mets’ offense on Saturday. New York had their best chance to score multiple runs in the fourth after Brandon Nimmo and J.D. Martinez led off with back-to-back singles. Pete Alonso grounded out before DJ Stewart and Tyrone Taylor struck out to end the threat.
Taillon pitched seven innings, giving up one run on six hits and striking out 10 batters. Saturday was just the fourth time in Taillon’s career he struck out double-digit batters.
–Francisco Alvarez was the only one to get to Taillon, launching a 433-foot blast to get the Mets on the board in the fifth. The young catcher finished 2-for-3 with a double, the home run and a walk. He has now homered in back-to-back games.
-In total, the Mets only mustered one run on seven hits and struck out a total of 14 times. Nimmo did extend his hitting streak to eight games.
-In his first game since being called up, Danny Young pitched 1.1 scoreless innings. Adrian Houser gave up two runs (one earned) on four hits and one walk over 3.2 innings.
–Starling Marte exited the game in the second inning with right knee soreness. He had one at-bat, a groundout, and was gingerly running it out when he was pulled.
Game MVP: Jameson Taillon
Taillon completely flummoxed the Mets lineup. Even with home plate umpire Vic Carapazza’s inconsistent strike zone, Taillon got around it by making the Mets hitters chase the ball.
Highlights
What’s next
The Mets and Cubs complete their three-game series on Sunday night. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.
Luis Severino (4-2, 3.52 ERA) will take the mound against the Cubs’ Javier Assad (4-2, 2.75 ERA).
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