Luis Severino tossed seven no-hit innings, but Edwin Diaz gave up a two-run homer in the ninth as the Mets fell to the Cubs, 3-1.
Here are the takeaways…
– Severino got the start and opened the game with a 1-2-3 first inning, including back-to-back strikeouts. Severino continued to deal and retired the next six straight Cubs, including former Mets top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong to close out the third inning. The right-hander let up a two-out walk in the fourth, but got a groundout to keep the Cubs hitless.
Severino kept the no-hit bid going through the fifth with another 1-2-3 frame. Sevy got his fifth strikeout of the night to open the sixth inning and then got help from Jeff McNeil on a soft grounder and a lineout for the second and third outs.
– After he hit Mike Tauchman by a pitch to start the seventh, Pete Alonso stopped a potential double down the line for the first out. Severino then got a gift as Tauchman completely misread a soft liner to second and ran to third, allowing McNeil to just toss the ball to second base for the double play.
– The no-hitter came to an end in the top of the eighth after a leadoff walk, as Severino let up a broken-bat single to Dansby Swanson. Matt Mervis hit a hard grounder to first, forcing Severino to cover the base, but the two collided and trainers came out to check on the pitcher. He stayed in the game and then Matt Madrigal drove in the game-tying run on a grounder that Joey Wendle opted to not throw home, instead trying for the 6-4-3 double play.
Severino’s night came to an end after 8.0 IP, as he allowed just one run on one hit with two walks, a hit-by-pitch, and five strikeouts over 101 pitches.
– Brandon Nimmo crushed a leadoff homer to right field on the fourth pitch he saw to give the Mets an early 1-0 lead. It’s Nimmo’s 13th first-inning leadoff home run of his career, and was New York’s first, first-inning homer of the season.
– Diaz came in to pitch the ninth in tied game and let up a two-run homer to Christopher Morel to give the Cubs a 3-1 lead. It’s just the second homer he’s allowed this year. The Mets got two runners on base in the bottom of the ninth, but DJ Stewart and Brett Baty both struck out to end the game.
GAME MVP: Luis Severino
Despite the result of the game, the 30-year-old dominated the Cubs on Monday night. Severino retired first 11 batters en route to seven no-hit innings of work. It was easily his best start since joining the Mets and just the seventh time he’s thrown 8.0 innings in a game in his career. The last time came back in 2018 during his career-best 19-win season.
Severino lowered his ERA to 2.31 on the year with the performance, as he’s allowed just eight earned runs over 35.0 IP with 31 strikeouts.
Highlights
What’s next
The Mets continue their four-game series with the Cubs Tuesday at 7:10 p.m. on SNY
New York’s Sean Manaea (1-1, 3.33 ERA) and Chicago’s Javier Assad (2-0, 2.00 ERA) are scheduled to pitch.
