Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - Nate Schierholtz drove in the winning run in
the ninth inning to help the Chicago Cubs to a 2-1 win over the New York Mets
in the opener of a three-game series.
With Scott Rice (1-2) on the mound, Anthony Rizzo led off with a single.
Starlin Castro then hit a grounder to third that David Wright had trouble with
and only got the out at first.
Luis Valbuena then struck out and Rice had Schierholtz facing an 0-2 count,
but Schierholtz smacked a single into right and Rizzo easily scored for the
victory.
"There's nothing like it," Schierholtz said of his game-winner. "It's pretty
fun."
Chris Coghlan tied the game in the eighth inning with a solo home run and
Hector Rondon (1-1) grabbed the win for tossing a scoreless ninth inning for
the Cubs, who had lost four of five coming in.
Curtis Granderson went 3-for-3 with an RBI and Matt den Dekker added two hits
and a run scored for the Mets, who came into the series having taken four of
five from the Phillies.
Chicago starter Jake Arrieta pitched 4 2/3 innings and gave up a run on seven
hits. Zack Wheeler tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings for New York and allowed
just two hits and two walks along with seven strikeouts.
The Mets got on board in the first as den Dekker led off with a single, stole
second, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on Granderson's sac fly.
The Cubs did not get a man to second until the eighth when Coghlan led off the
frame with his first homer of the year. Emilio Bonifacio singled with two outs
later in the frame and stole second, but Junior Lake struck out to end the
inning.
New York left men on second and third in the second, and came away with no
runs in the third after loading the bases with no outs. Chris Young hit into a
1-2 fielder's choice, Lucas Duda popped out to short, and Wilmer Flores lined
out back to the mound.
"In the third inning we let some runs get away from us and it came back to
bite us," said New York manager Terry Collins. "We left too many guys on base
tonight.
The Mets went just 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10
men on base.
Game Notes
These teams split six games last season ... Before the contest, the Cubs
activated Rondon from the paternity list, selected the contract of catcher Eli
Whiteside from Triple-A Iowa (PCL), placed catcher Welington Castillo on the
15-day disabled list and designated pitcher Jose Veras for assignment.