Mets Beat Cubs, White Sox Down Orioles

By ESPN

Jacob deGrom gave up a quick double to the wall, Asdrubal Cabrera made an early and embarrassing error.

Then in a hurry, things turned around for them and the New York Mets.

DeGrom pitched a five-hitter, Cabrera lined two home runs and turned four double plays, and the Mets beat the Chicago Cubs 6-1 Monday night.

"I think it all evens out," deGrom said.

DeGrom (5-3) threw the Mets' first complete game of the season, Jay Bruce also homered and New York won its fourth in a row.

Still under .500 but getting healthier, the Mets started a key two-week stretch where they face 14 straight games against teams that reached the NL playoffs last year.

The only damper on the win: Star outfielder Yoenis Cespedes exited because of a sore left heel, two days after he returned from a six-week stint on the disabled list.

Cespedes went 1 for 3 before being pulled. He had been out with a strained left hamstring, and also had been nagged by trouble with his quadriceps.

But Cespedes said there was nothing to worry about this time. He said the heel has bothered him for years, and that he expected to play Tuesday night.

"I'm just trying to be a little cautious," he said through a translator.

The Cubs dropped to 31-32 with their ninth straight road loss -- the World Series champions haven't won away from Wrigley Field in a month during their worst road skid since 2012.

"We can't keep using that as an excuse that the other team's pitcher is good," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "We've got to start beating some better pitchers, period. You don't get to the promised land without winning games like that, maybe 3-2, 4-3, whatever."

Addison Russell homered in Chicago's fifth loss in six games overall. The defeat began a string in which the Cubs play 17 of 20 on the road.

DeGrom pitched the Mets to their seventh win in a row over the Cubs at Citi Field, dating to the 2015 NL Championship Series. He neatly bounced back from getting hit hard in a pair of starts, walking four and striking out six.

DeGrom worked around a two-out double by Anthony Rizzo in the first and, effectively using a changeup, went on to throw his second complete game in 89 major league starts. After pitching the eighth, deGrom delivered a simple message to manager Terry Collins.

"I walked in and said I wanted to finish the game," deGrom said.

John Lackey (4-7) fell to 0-4 in five starts. He's allowed nine homers in 28 innings over the span and has yielded 19 longballs this season, one behind Cincinnati's Bronson Arroyo for most in the majors.

"I need to do a better job of keeping the ball in the yard, for sure, and give our offense a chance to score a couple of runs," Lackey said.

Cabrera got off to an ominous start with his 11th error, four more than the usually sure-handed shortstop made all of last year. Jason Heyward opened the Cubs second with a routine popup and Cabrera bumped into third baseman Jose Reyes as they settled under it, with the ball glancing off Cabrera's glove and falling to the ground.

"It's a tough game. Bad things happen, too," Cabrera said.

But Cabrera opened the bottom of the second by lining a drive over the right-center field fence. In the fourth, Cabrera did it again for his sixth home run this season and the sixth multihomer game of his career.

Cabrera was in the middle of double plays the Mets turned in four straight innings, starting in the third.

Bruce hit his 17th homer, a two-run drive in the third. He had three hits and drew a walk.

Russell homered for the second day in a row, connecting in the seventh.

White Sox 10, Orioles 7

Kevan Smith received a new shipment of bats on Monday. He may be sticking with the new lumber for some time.

Smith hit his first career home run, Avisail Garcia celebrated his 26th birthday with three RBI and the Chicago White Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles 10-7 on Monday night.

The White Sox opened a four-game series on a strong note after dropping nine of 11 and handed the Orioles their fifth straight loss.

Smith set the tone with a two-run drive in the second against Wade Miley (2-4) and finished with a career-best three RBI.

"It was the first swing of the game I took with it and I was like all right, let's order about three dozen of those," Smith said of his new bats. "But it just comes when you least expect it."

Garcia added an RBI double in a four-run third and drove in two more with a single in the fourth to give Chicago an 8-2 lead.

Matt Davidson had an RBI single and solo homer. Melky Cabrera had three of Chicago's 14 hits. Jose Abreu singled, doubled and scored twice.

"I think everybody stays very positive," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said of the big-hitting night. "I think people pick up on the energy that goes on when that happens."

Jake Petricka (1-0) pitched one-hit ball over 2 1/3 innings after Mike Pelfrey struggled, and the White Sox picked up the win after a 2-7 road trip.

Baltimore made a run late in the game, with Trey Mancini's three-run homer against Gregory Infante in the eighth cutting it to 10-6. But it wasn't enough after Miley failed to make it out of the third in his second straight start.

He gave up six runs and six hits in 2 1/3 innings. The left-hander lasted just 2 2/3 against Pittsburgh last week, and his ERA has jumped from 2.82 to 3.97 in his past two starts.

"I (stunk)," Miley said. "There's really no answer."

Pelfrey lasted 3 2/3 innings, allowing two runs and six hits while walking five. He also hit a batter. Pelfrey got out of a bases loaded jam in the third when Chris Davis hit a fly to right.

Davis then left the game with a strained right oblique and was scheduled for an MRI in Chicago on Tuesday morning, manager Buck Showalter said.

Monday, June 12 Scoreboard

Atlanta 11, Washington 10

Pittsburgh 7, Colorado 2

Boston 6, Philadelphia 5 (F/11)

New York Mets 6, Chicago Cubs 1

Chicago White Sox 10, Baltimore 7

Seattle 14, Minnesota 3

Texas 6, Houston 1

New York Yankees 5, Los Angeles Angels 3

San Diego 9, Cincinnati 3

Tuesday, June 13 Schedule (All Times Central)

Milwaukee at St. Louis, 1:15 p.m.

Atlanta at Washington, 6:05 p.m.

Colorado at Pittsburgh, 6:05 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Toronto, 6:07 p.m.

Philadelphia at Boston, 6:10 p.m.

Los Angeles Dodgers at Cleveland, 6:10 p.m.

Arizona at Detroit, 6:10 p.m.

Chicago Cubs at New York Mets, 6:10 p.m.

Oakland at Miami, 6:10 p.m.

Baltimore at Chicago White Sox, 7:10 p.m.

Seattle at Minnesota, 7:10 p.m.

Texas at Houston, 7:10 p.m.

Milwaukee at St. Louis, 7:15 p.m.

New York Yankees at Los Angeles Angels, 9:07 p.m.

Cincinnati at San Diego, 9:10 p.m.

Kansas City at San Francisco, 9:15 p.m.