Carlos Carrasco, Mets salvage finale against Cubs

Carlos Carrasco allowed one run in a season-high 6 2/3 innings, Pete Alonso belted his major-league-leading 19th homer and the visiting New York Mets beat the Chicago Cubs 10-1 on Thursday to avert a three-game sweep.

Making his second start since missing more than a month with elbow inflammation, Carrasco (1-2) delivered the best of his five 2023 outings. The right-hander yielded Dansby Swanson's first-inning solo homer, four other hits and struck out four while walking two.

New York's Jeff McNeil had three hits and scored for the third time on Alonso's two-run, insurance homer in the seventh. Alonso has eight long balls in 14 career games at Wrigley Field.

Brandon Nimmo added a two-run triple during the Mets' three-run eighth for one of his two hits. Brett Baty and Starling Marte (two hits) each had two RBIs as New York broke out after totaling four runs in the first two of the set.

Back from a shoulder injury and on a major league mound for the first time since July 5, Chicago's Kyle Hendricks (0-1) had his moments of success Thursday, like retiring seven straight Mets at one point. However, he was charged with five runs, three earned, on six hits and two walks while striking out five in 4 1/3 innings.

Hendricks got in immediate trouble when Nimmo opened the game with a single before McNeil and Alonso each drew one-out walks. However, the Mets only mustered a run in the first on Baty's sacrifice fly.

Chicago wasted no time evening the contest when Swanson took a Carrasco pitch into the left field bleachers with one out in the bottom of the first.

In the third, Hendricks allowed four consecutive singles with two outs -- with one of those runners scoring on Baty's hit and two coming home courtesy of Marte for a 4-1 New York lead.

The Mets added a run in the fifth on Cubs catcher Yan Gomes' throwing error.

Seiya Suzuki had two of Chicago's six hits.

--Field Level Media