Chicago, IL (Sports Network) – Ike Davis finished a triple shy of the cycle, drove in three runs, and scored three runs, as the New York Mets dominated the Chicago Cubs, 18-5, at Wrigley Field.
Ruben Tejada drove in five runs for the Mets, who avoided being swept by the Cubs in a three-game series for the first time since April 23-25, 2004. Angel Pagan had three RBI for New York, which had 21 hits.
Jon Niese (9-7) went six-plus innings in the start, allowing five runs on eight hits to snap a two-start skid. The left-hander also struck out four and walked three.
Aramis Ramirez hit a two-run homer and knocked in a total of three runs for Chicago, which saw a three-game win streak come to an end. Geovany Soto also homered.
Ryan Dempster (12-10) got rocked in 4 2/3 frames, giving up seven runs — three earned — on nine hits to suffer his second straight loss. He also fanned five batters and walked four.
Ramirez’s run-scoring single in the first gave Chicago the early lead. The Mets, though, got a sac fly from Tejada and RBI single from Niese in the second to make it a 2-1 game.
The Cubs went back in front on Ramirez’s two-run homer in the third. Soto added a sacrifice fly in the fourth to make it a 4-2 game.
New York took control of the contest with a five-run fifth. Pagan reached second on Tyler Colvin’s error, moved to third on Luis Hernandez’s base hit, and scored on Carlos Beltran’s single. Davis followed with an RBI single of his own. Mike Hessman walked to load the bases. Following two outs, Tejada and Niese hit back-to-back singles to score three more runs for a 7-4 Mets advantage.
Tejada and Soto hit solo homers in the seventh. It was Tejada’s first homer in the majors.
The Mets turned the game into a rout by scoring a total of 10 runs over the final two frames. In the eighth, Davis hit a two-run homer to left. With runners on the corners and two outs, pinch-hitter Joaquin Arias hit an RBI single. Pagan followed with a two-run double.
New York loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth. Tejada walked to force in a run. Pinch-hitter Chris Carter then hit a two-run single. Pagan and Hernandez followed with run-scoring singles to account for the final margin.
Ramirez now has 1,601 hits in his career…The Cubs fell to 8-4 under interim manager Mike Quade…Chicago rookie Starlin Castro had a streak of six consecutive multi-hit games come to an end…The Mets were without shortstop Jose Reyes (strained right oblique)…The Mets recalled infielder/outfielder Nick Evans from Triple-A Buffalo. He went 1-for-3 with a run scored…Dempster remains one win shy of 100 for his career. He fell to 9-5 lifetime versus New York.