Crow-Armstrong’s 10th-Inning Double Lifts Cubs Past Mets in Sweep

Sometimes baseball rewards the team that simply refuses to fold. On Thursday at Citi Field, the Chicago Cubs proved they have the mettle of a contender, grinding out a 4-3 victory over the New York Mets in 10 innings. It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t dominant. But it was effective, and in a tight pennant race, that’s what matters.

Pete Crow-Armstrong delivered the knockout blow with a sharp line drive double to right in the 10th, driving in Matt Shaw with the go-ahead run. In a game defined by inches and heartbreak, it was fitting that the Cubs’ eventual hero needed just one swing to seize control. Crow-Armstrong has quietly become one of this Cubs team’s most clutch performers, and this moment only cemented that reputation.

The Sixth Inning Fireworks

The real story of this game was written in the sixth inning, when the Cubs mounted a three-run barrage that should have been enough to put the Mets away. Michael Conforto’s line drive single to right scored Dansby Swanson. Alex Bregman followed with an RBI double down the line, though Carson Benge’s fielding error gave the Cubs a free gift. Ian Happ capped the assault with another single, plating Bregman with what looked like an insurance run.

At that point, the Cubs led 3-0 and appeared destined to complete a sweep. But here’s where the Mets, for all their flaws, showed some fight. Eric Wagaman, a pinch-hitter who should have been a footnote, launched a two-run home run in the sixth that suddenly made things interesting. Then Jared Young connected for a solo shot in the seventh, tying the game at three apiece.

A Grinding Affair That Tested Both Bullpens

What followed was an exercise in tension and mediocrity. Neither team could break through for seven innings. Brooks Raley took the loss for the Mets despite pitching just one inning, which tells you everything you need to know about how compressed this game became in the late innings. Jacob Webb earned the win with a scoreless inning of relief, while Trent Thornton picked up his first save of the season by retiring the side cleanly in the 10th.

The Cubs’ pitching staff, despite some shakiness, managed to keep the Mets at bay when it mattered most. Sure, there were some close calls. Phil Maton escaped a bases-loaded jam in the sixth that could have derailed the entire game. But that’s championship baseball right there, executing when the moment demands it.

The reality is that this Mets team had chances to win this game and simply couldn’t capitalize. Wagaman and Young kept them alive longer than they had any right to be, but it wasn’t enough. The Cubs, meanwhile, showed the kind of resilience that contenders need when things get tight.

With the sweep complete, Chicago continues its push toward October. The Mets, meanwhile, head home licking their wounds and wondering how they let this one slip away. In baseball, sometimes that’s the difference between a good team and a great one.