|
 "It seemed like he was throwing about 96 or 98 with a good slider,
and in those situation, you have to really control your emotions
because you want to be the guy," the Chicago Cubs left fielder said.
Coghlan kept his cool and drew a walk that scored pinch runner Matt
Szczur from third with the winning run as the Cubs beat the Mets 2-1
and clinched a series victory.
"He really didn't give me anything to hit, so I took my walk,"
Coghlan said.
Entering a tie game with the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom
of the ninth, Familia struck out Cubs right fielder Jorge Soler but
then walked Coghlan on five pitches to force in the winning run.
First baseman Anthony Rizzo singled against Mets right-handed
reliever Carlos Torres to lead off the ninth and was replaced by
Szczur. Shortstop Starlin Castro sent Szczur to third with a base
hit to left. Torres then intentionally walked Cubs catcher Miguel
Montero to load the bases before departing.
Hector Rondon (2-0) threw one perfect inning for the win. Torres
(1-2) took the loss after working one inning and giving up two runs
and four hits.
The victory was the Cubs' third straight in a four-game series that
concludes Thursday.
Mets right-hander Matt Harvey left after seven innings with a 1-0
lead, but neither he nor Cubs right-hander Jason Hammel wound up
involved in the decision. Harvey limited Chicago to three hits and
two walks while striking out nine.
"It's always hard to lose a tough game like that, especially when
you've had the outing that you get," New York manager Terry Collins
said. "Matt pitched a great game, and we're just not giving any of
our guys any room to wiggle. He was outstanding."
The Cubs forged a 1-1 tie against Torres in the eighth when center
fielder Dexter Fowler singled home second baseman Addison Russell
from second with two outs.
The Mets scored in the sixth for their first lead in the series.
Right fielder Curtis Granderson came home from third when left
fielder Michael Cuddyer grounded out to third.
Granderson singled to right center to lead off the inning and
reached third on third baseman Daniel Murphy's double to left.
The Cubs had Russell at third with two outs in the sixth but failed
to bring him home after Castro grounded to second to end the inning.
Hammel was pulled for a pinch hitter in the eighth. He gave up one
run and five hits, struck out six and walked one.
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The Mets loaded the bases with one out in the first inning. Hammel
walked a batter, gave up a single and hit another with a pitch, but
shortstop Wilmer Flores flied out to left and Hammel struck out
catcher Kevin Plawecki to escape unscathed.
Hammel settled down after that and faced the minimum of 12 batters
between the second and fifth innings.
Harvey gave up just one hit into the fourth before the Cubs mounted
their first threat. Third baseman Kris Bryant beat out an infield
single with one out, and Rizzo reached when he was hit by a pitch.
However, Harvey got out of the inning after Castro popped up to
first and Montero popped to short right.
"Everybody wanted to win that game, and after the last couple of
weeks, we really needed that," Harvey said. "We have a long stretch
of games, so we're all going to stay positive and go out there.
We're going to put up runs."
NOTES: Mets manager Terry Collins has a pretty good track record on
challenges this season. He was successful on 10 of 13, including
nine in a row. ... The Mets lost their sixth straight at Wrigley
Field, their longest skid on the North Side since 2003-04. The
1984-85 teams had a record nine straight losses. ... Left-handers go
head-to-head in Thursday's series finale as the Mets' Jonathon Niese
(3-2, 1.95 ERA) faces the Cubs' Travis Wood (2-2, 4.96). ... The
Cubs are 9-6 in one-run games. ... Chicago LHP James Russell needs
two appearances to tie Willie Hernandez for the most in franchise
history by a left-hander. ... The Cubs have 10 more home games in
May, including three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates and
Kansas City Royals.
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reserved.]
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