Pete Crow-Armstrong capped a five-run second inning by hitting a three-run homer and Dansby Swanson drove in four runs as the visiting Chicago Cubs earned a 9-6 victory over the struggling New York Mets on Tuesday night.
Mets starter Kodai Senga (0-6) breezed through a 15-pitch first inning, but the Cubs jumped on him in the second.
Crow-Armstrong, who was traded by the Mets to Chicago for Javier Baez in 2021, homered for the fifth time in six games when he lifted a 1-0 94 mph fastball over the right-center-field fence into the bullpen area for a 5-0 lead.
Before Crow-Armstrong extended his hitting streak to 11 games and his on-base streak to 24 games, Carson Kelly drew a bases-loaded walk after Senga plunked Matt Shaw in the back with a splitter.
Swanson lifted a sacrifice fly for a 2-0 lead in the second. He hit a two-run homer off Senga in the fourth and an RBI double in the eighth.
Crow-Armstrong was also involved in a strange play in the seventh. He slid into second on a walk by Michael Busch, but the Mets challenged, asserting he overslid the base, and a replay deemed Crow-Armstrong lost possession of the base.
Chicago manager Craig Counsell was incredulous and was ejected by plate umpire Junior Valentine while Crow-Armstrong had to be restrained.
Kelly added an RBI double in the eighth for the Cubs, who won for the seventh time in 10 games.
Despite the comfortable win, Chicago lost starting pitcher Edward Cabrera (5-4) to left hamstring/adductor strain in the fifth. Cabrera was carted off the field when he stretched at first base to field a throw from second baseman Nico Hoerner on a ground ball by Jared Young.
Cabrera allowed two runs on three hits in five innings. The right-hander walked four and struck out four.
The Mets lost their third straight and also saw Juan Soto exit with tightness on the left side of his back after the fourth inning. Soto was hitless in two at-bats and was seen with a heating pad on his back in the dugout.
Francisco Alvarez drove in three runs for the Mets with a two-run single in the second and a homer in the seventh. Bo Bichette hit a two-run homer in the ninth after striking out with the bases loaded in the second.
Senga was tagged for seven runs on three hits in 3 2/3 laborious innings. Senga struck out six and walked five as his ERA increased to 10.08.
--Field Level Media