Cubs fall to Mets, Javier Assad gives up 7 hits in 4.1 innings originally appeared in NBC Sports Chicago
Luis Severino pitched six shutout innings, Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo hit back-to-back home runs, and the New York Mets surpassed the Chicago puppies 5-2 on Sunday night after closer Edwin Díaz was thrown out in the ninth before throwing a pitch.
Díaz came in to try to seal the victory, but was ejected for containing a foreign substance after referees inspected his right hand and glove. Under Major League Baseball rules, a player can be suspended for 10 games if he is found to have used illegal foreign substances.
Díaz said he does “always the same thing” before casting: a mixture of resin and sweat on his hands, which he also rubs into the dirt.
“That’s what I was explaining to them, but they said it was too much force,” he said, adding later that he was “really surprised” by the ejection.
“They thought he crossed the line,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Obviously, the rules are the rules and they made the decision to kick him out.”
Drew Smith got two outs in place of Díaz before Jake Diekman struck out the batter Patricio’s Wisdom for his third save for the Mets, who have won four consecutive series.
Severino (5-2) struck out a season-high 10 hits and allowed three hits for New York, which has won 10 of 13 and improved to 13-6 in June. Mark Vientos added a solo home run for the Mets.
Christopher Morel was honored by Chicago, which has lost 10 of its last 16.
Javier Assad (4-3), who went seven games without a win, gave up seven hits and walked one in 4 1/3 innings.
New York’s victory came hours after the Cubs’ revealed a statue Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg outside Wrigley Field.
The Mets had Assad throw a lot of pitches early on, as four of their first eight batters went for full counts. They finally broke through in the third when Lindor followed Harrison Bader’s double with his 13th home run into the left field stands.
Nimmo drove his 11th to nearly the same spot four pitches later.
J.D. Martinez added an RBI in the fifth and Vientos homered from Tyson Miller in the eighth.
Severino gave way to Dedniel Núñez, who surrendered a two-run homer to Morel in the seventh.
RYNO’S SPECIAL DAY
Sandberg became the fifth Cubs player honored with a statue, joining fellow Hall of Famers Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, Billy Williams and Ferguson Jenkins outside the park’s left field entrance.
The 10-time All-Star played 15 of his 16 seasons in Chicago and finished his career with a .285 batting average, 282 home runs, 1,061 RBIs and nine Gold Glove awards.
The club retired Sandberg’s number 23 during the 2005 season, the same summer he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. He and his family led the seventh-inning stretch in singing along.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Puppies: RHP Marcos Leiter Jr.. it was placed on the 15-day injured list before the game with a forearm strain. … LHP Luke Little has been recalled from Triple-A Iowa.
NEXT
Mets: Take Monday off before sending LHP David Peterson (3-0, 3.97 ERA) against RHP Gerrit Cole (0-0, 4.50) for the visiting New York Yankees on Tuesday night .
Cubs: Neither the Cubs nor the Giants have announced a starter for Monday night’s series opener in San Francisco.
