|
 Upon hearing someone suggest The Cars' 1984 hit "Magic," Maddon
grinned.
"I love The Cars," Maddon said, "so I'll go with The Cars."
It took 11 innings Wednesday night, but The Cars did take a spin on
the postgame stereo in the visitor's clubhouse at Citi Field.
Shortstop Starlin Castro legged out a run-scoring infield hit with
two outs in the top of the 11th to snap a scoreless tie and lead the
Cubs to a 2-0 win over the New York Mets.
The Cubs have scored just three runs in 20 innings since Maddon
brought in a magician to perform some tricks prior to Tuesday's
series opener. However, that was enough to earn two wins thanks to a
pitching staff that produced back-to-back shutouts of the anemic
Mets.
"My takeaway is this," Maddon said as "Magic" blasted in the
clubhouse. "Win or lose that game tonight, I am really proud of the
way our guys have been playing baseball. There is no quit. There's
no giving up. We're a little bit challenged offensively now."
The Cubs (41-35) scored two runs or fewer for the eighth consecutive
game, a stretch in which they are 3-5.
"A lot of times teams will sink because of that," Maddon said. "We
have not, and I really appreciate that."
The Mets, however, appear closer to sinking into an unrecoverable
hole. New York (40-39) scored two runs or fewer for the 11th time in
13 games, and it scored one run or fewer for the 20th time this
season.
The Mets scored seven runs Sunday, when left-handed pitcher Steven
Matz drove in four runs in his major league debut. However, they
scored in just three of the past 38 innings in which Matz did not
bat dating back to Saturday.
"You have to start thinking outside the box, because inside the box
isn't working," Mets manager Terry Collins said.
Collins tried that in the eighth, when shortstop Ruben Tejada led
off the inning by reaching on a Castro error. One out later, third
baseman Daniel Murphy doubled to left.
With pinch hitter Darrell Ceciliani at the plate, Collins called for
a suicide squeeze. Ceciliani missed the pitch, and Tejada was tagged
out after a rundown.
"Those things are magnified in a stretch like this," Collins said.
"We're not getting a lot of opportunities, so we need to execute
when we do."
The Cubs overcame their own mistakes in their 11th-inning rally,
which began when center fielder Dexter Fowler drew a leadoff walk
against right-hander Carlos Torres (2-4). First baseman Anthony
Rizzo followed with a grounder to short but was safe at first when
second baseman Wilmer Flores bounced the relay throw after getting
the force at second.
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Third baseman Kris Bryant and left fielder Chris Coghlan followed
with singles. Rizzo was held at third by third base coach Gary Jones
on Coghlan's single, but Bryant overran second and was thrown out
when Murphy cut off the throw from left fielder John Mayberry Jr.
Castro followed by hitting a roller to third on a 1-2 pitch. Murphy
made a nice barehanded play, but Castro beat the throw by a
half-step as Rizzo scored.
"I have two strikes, I choke up my bat and I just said, 'Just try to
put the ball in play,'" Castro said. "I see (Murphy's) got a chance
(to field it). I said, 'Run it, run the best you got and try to be
safe, score the run.'"
Catcher Miguel Montero added an RBI single two batters later.
Right-hander Jason Motte (6-1) earned the win with a perfect 10th.
The Mets had runners at the corners with two outs in the 11th before
right-hander Justin Grimm notched his first career save by striking
out catcher Kevin Plawecki.
Mets right-hander Bartolo Colon and Cubs left-hander Jon Lester each
threw seven scoreless innings. Colon, who had earned a decision in
his previous 27 starts, allowed three hits and an intentional walk
while striking out eight. Lester allowed five hits and one walk
while striking out seven.
NOTES: Mets LF Michael Cuddyer, who left after six innings Tuesday
due to a sore left knee, has mild swelling, according to an MRI exam
performed Wednesday. He received a cortisone shot and could be
available Thursday. ... Since Wednesday was July 1, the Mets had to
cut ex-OF Bobby Bonilla a check for just shy of $1.2 million.
Bonilla and the Mets negotiated a buyout after the 1999 season in
which the Mets agreed to defer his $5.9 million salary in 2000, at 8
percent annual interest, until 2011, when he received the first of
25 annual July 1 payments. In the end, that will net Bonilla $29.8
million. ... Cubs 2B Addison Russell didn't start for just the third
time in the past 56 games. He came off the bench and went 0-for-1
with a walk. ... 3B Kris Bryant, who didn't debut until April 17 so
the club could delay his free agency until 2021, is the first Cubs
rookie to collect 10 homers, 40 RBIs and 40 runs by the end of June.
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