NEW YORK (AP) — With all the talk about the eye-popping numbers Cody Bellinger and the Chicago Cubs are putting up at the plate lately, perhaps Jameson Taillon and their unheralded bullpen are getting a little overlooked.
Mike Tauchman hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning and Taillon retired his final 16 batters to win his fourth straight start as the surging Cubs beat the New York Mets 3-2 on Tuesday night.
Bellinger also went deep and Yan Gomes had an RBI double for the Cubs, who won for the 16th time in 21 games. They moved within 1 1/2 games of first-place Milwaukee in the NL Central and just ahead of Cincinnati in a crowded wild-card race for the league’s final playoff spot.
“It’s really electric,” closer Adbert Alzolay said. “I feel like, just as a team right now, the chemistry is so good that we just want to be here, we just want to be around each other.”
Pete Alonso hit an early two-run homer for the sinking Mets that culminated in an amusing back-and-forth trot around the bases because of a replay review. New York has lost seven of eight since trading Justin Verlander and other veterans at last week’s deadline.
Tauchman also made a tough catch in deep right field to help keep the Mets from scoring in the eighth. Julian Merryweather retired 2022 big league batting champion Jeff McNeil with runners at the corners to end the inning.
Alzolay worked a one-hit ninth for his 15th save in 16 tries. He started a 1-6-3 double play on Daniel Vogelbach to close it out.
“You’ve just got to be ready for those moments,” Alzolay said. “When I saw the ball I was like, hell yeah, the ball is here, now we can make a double play and go home.”
Taillon (7-6) allowed three hits in seven innings and improved to 5-0 with a 2.17 ERA in his past six outings. He struck out seven, walked none and did not permit a baserunner after Omar Narváez’s two-out double in the second.
“Just the work between starts, I really think I’ve found a good scouting method, a good note-taking method,” Taillon said.
With one out in the eighth, Tauchman sent a payoff pitch from Drew Smith (4-4) to left-center for an opposite-field homer that put Chicago in front for the first time.
“When you get into 3-2 counts — which I think we lead baseball in — you have to lower your sights a little bit from where you’re supposed to throw the ball to certain hitters to get them out,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said.
Bellinger launched a solo shot off starter Carlos Carrasco in the fourth, adding to his recent tear and extending his hitting streak to 10 games. Gomes tied it with an RBI double in the fifth following a leadoff walk to Christopher Morel.
“It’s been fun,” Bellinger said. “I think that no matter what happened the previous day, we all come in with a plan. And that’s kind of allowed us to have success whether we win or lose the day before.”
SUZUKI SPEAKS
Slumping right fielder Seiya Suzuki, who recently lost his everyday job with the Cubs, spoke with reporters before the game and acknowledged that teammates who are swinging better right now should be in the lineup. He said he’s been too hesitant at the plate, but he remains confident and needs to step up and work harder to earn his starting spot back.
“I think it’s all about just being more relaxed in the box,” Suzuki said through a translator. “It’s really important just to stay simple, not to think too much.”
Suzuki is hitting .249 with nine homers, 37 RBIs and a .715 OPS in his second major league season since arriving from Japan and signing an $85 million, five-year contract. He’s batted third, fourth or fifth 73 times for Chicago this season.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cubs: All-Star RHP Marcus Stroman (right hip inflammation) threw a bullpen. The team hopes Stroman can return from the injured list when eligible Aug. 16. … RHP Brad Boxberger (strained right forearm) and RHP Ethan Roberts (Tommy John surgery) were scheduled to face hitters at the club’s complex in Arizona.
Mets: Struggling RF Starling Marte (strained right groin) was examined by a doctor in Philadelphia and felt better after receiving an injection. He’ll be cleared for light activity in the next few days, the team said. There’s no timeline for Marte’s return, but Showalter expects him back this season. … Right fielder DJ Stewart was scratched with a sore wrist.
UP NEXT
Cubs: RHP Kyle Hendricks (4-6, 3.98 ERA) pitches Wednesday night in the finale of the three-game series. Hendricks was tagged for a season-high seven runs — all in the fourth inning — during last Friday’s loss to Atlanta at Wrigley Field. He is 4-1 with a 2.62 ERA in six career starts against the Mets. After recovering from a shoulder tear, Hendricks made his season debut May 25 versus the Mets at home and took the loss, allowing five runs (three earned) over 4 1/3 innings.
Mets: LHP David Peterson (3-7, 5.65 ERA) has a 2.05 ERA in 10 games, four starts, since returning from Triple-A Syracuse on June 27. The last time he faced the Cubs, he got only one out and was charged with five runs and three walks in a loss at Citi Field in September 2022.
