Frazier's slam helps Mets clobber Cubs

[August 30, 2018]    Todd Frazier hit a grand slam in the first inning Wednesday afternoon and finished with five RBIs for the New York Mets, who capped an unusual day of baseball by snapping out of an offensive funk with a 10-3 win over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Mets starting pitcher Jacob deGrom (48) smiles during the fourth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports

With the win, the Mets snapped a three-game losing streak and salvaged the finale of the three-game series. The middle game, which was suspended due to rain in the 10th inning Tuesday night, was completed earlier Wednesday afternoon, when Ben Zobrist hit a walk-off RBI single in the 11th inning to give the Cubs a 2-1 win.

The loss snapped a seven-game winning streak for the Cubs, who have the best record in the National League (78-54) and lead the St. Louis Cardinals by four games in the NL Central, pending the Cardinals game against the Pittsburgh Pirates later Wednesday night.

The Cubs remained within striking distance until the late innings Wednesday, but the Mets scored four more times in the seventh and twice in the ninth. Amed Rosario and Austin Jackson each had RBI singles in the seventh before Jose Reyes laced a two-run triple.

Frazier and Brandon Nimmo added run-scoring singles in the ninth. The five RBIs were the most for Frazier since he collected six RBIs for the Chicago White Sox against the Texas Rangers on May 9, 2016.

His slam, his 16th homer of the year, came on a 2-0 fastball with two outs in the first, after Rosario and Jackson singled and Michael Conforto walked.

Nimmo finished with three hits, while Frazier, Rosario, Jackson, Wilmer Flores and Jay Bruce all had two hits apiece.

Jason Vargas (5-8) won his third straight start after allowing one run on four hits and two walks while striking out six over 5 1/3 innings. Vargas has given up just three runs over 16 2/3 innings during the winning streak, a span in which he's lowered his overall ERA from 8.10 to 6.56.

Ian Happ legged out an RBI infield single in the second inning, and Victor Caratini hit a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth for the Cubs. Willson Contreras had two hits.

Alec Mills (0-1) took the loss after surrendering four runs on five hits and two walks while striking out five over five innings in his second career start.

--Field Level Media

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