Tylor Megill’s unlucky 4th inning leads to 7-2 loss and ends Mets 5-game winning streak – The Mercury News

CHICAGO — It felt like the Mets couldn’t hurt for five games.

Then suddenly everything went wrong in Chicago and the Mets’ winning streak came to an end. Last week’s comeback kids couldn’t overcome an early 4-1 hole and lost 7-2 in the opener of a three-game series on Tuesday at Wrigley Field.

Tylor Megill had two easy sets and a tough 1&2/3 in the loss (5-3). He allowed four runs in the second, but it was a fourth that may have cost the Mets (25-24) and Megill the most.

Megill allowed six runs (four earned) on six hits, walked two and struck out five in 3 and 2/3 innings.

“He probably deserved a better fate,” manager Buck Showalter said. “The mistakes he made didn’t stay in the park, but I thought his stuff was pretty good. We didn’t do much offensively and we didn’t play particularly well behind him either.

The two runs allowed by Megill in the fourth were unearned, but after a bounce ball to left field by Tommy Pham, a canceled call at second base and a few two-out singles, the Mets lost 6-1 and Megill was fired for Dominic Leone after 78 pitches.

Trailing 4-1 heading into the inning, Mike Tauchman fielded one to Pham in left field, but the ball fell out of Pham’s glove and he failed to make a circus play to get the runner out. Tauchman slipped safely into second. Megill was almost out of the round after knocking out Patrick Wisdom and Yan Gomes, but it fell apart from there.

Matt Mervis chose right field and Tauchman scored. He was called at second with Starling Marte making a clutch play at Francisco Lindor, but the Cubs contested the call, and it was overturned. Nico Hoerner then hit a right to the edge of the dirt between second and third base and Lindor made a fantastic save, but his first pitch took Pete Alonso out of the bag to put the runners in the corners.

“Things like this happen and they happen fast,” Megill said. “I just need to be able to reduce that and be able to get through it.”

Dansby Swanson’s backfield single on the right scored Mervis, put the Cubs (21-26) up 6-1 and ended Megill’s day. The pitch clock no longer allows casters to pause and reset and without that Megill started working.

“That’s the most important thing I have to work on is that when things go wrong I have to limit the damage and move on and be able to stretch out and stay there,” said Megill.

Megill gave up four wins in the second inning, including a first home run to Seiya Suzuki.

“When I have bad exits, they tend to be explosive exits,” Megill said. “Maybe tonight I would have pitched six innings, continued after those four runs and stopped the damage. But that doesn’t happen. It explodes in my face and it doesn’t stop.

Rookie slugger Christopher Morel became the first Cubs hitter since Sammy Sosa to homer in five straight games when he slugged Stephen Nogosek deep on the second pitch he saw in the seventh. It was his ninth home run since being recalled from Triple-A Iowa on May 9 and it gave Chicago a 7-2 lead.

Alonso hit his 18th homer of the season against Drew Smyly (5-1) in the top of the fourth inning. The top of the Mets order charged the no-outs in the top of the sixth to bring Alonso back up.

There would be no theater this time.

Smyly was replaced by right-hander Jeremiah Estrada, which caused Alonso to cut one to third base. Brandon Nimmo scored on strength and the Mets then hit Daniel Vogelbach off right-hander Estrada. But the slugger came out empty, as did Marte, who failed two to end the inning.

Jeff McNeil failed two more early in the seventh. The Mets went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position and blocked six runners.

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