Cubs close series with walk-off loss to Mets in 11 innings

NEW YORK – For the second straight day, the Cubs’ game against the Mets ended with left fielder Ian Happ firing to his cut-off man as a Mets baserunner sped home.

On Thursday, unlike the night before, the Cubs couldn’t quite pull off a miraculous play at the plate.

The Cubs closed up a four-game series against the Mets with a 7-6 loss in 11 innings Thursday. It was their fourth walk-off loss of the season, leading MLB.

“There’s some opportunities we left out there, and there’s some runs we couldn’t keep off the board, and there’s some things we did well,” manager Craig Counsell said after the game. So there was a lot that happened in the game, and we just ended up coming up short.”

The Cubs scored first and then expanded their lead to 4-0 with a three-run homer from Christopher Morel in the top of the fifth inning. It was his second homer of the series.

But the Mets chipped away, eventually tying up the game at five runs apiece in the bottom of the sixth.

Neither team scored again until the 11th inning. The Cubs’ Nick Madrigal hit an RBI double to put his team up again. But Mets right fielder Starling Marte threw out Madrigal trying to score on a single by Mike Tauchman in a close play at the plate.

In the bottom half of the inning, the Mets’ Francisco Lindor hit an opposite-field two-run double to walk off the Cubs.

The Cubs went 3-4 on their road trip to Boston and New York. They return to Wrigley Field to open a six-game homestand against the Brewers and Padres.

Swanson off the bench

Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson didn’t enter the game until the 11th inning, when he pinch hit for top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong and struck out.

Getting a break, Swanson was out of the lineup Thursday for the first time this season. Swanson takes pride in his availability. And in his last three seasons with the Braves, 2020 through 2022, he missed just one regular season game.

“He wants to play,” Counsell said. “I think we have to recognize what are the demands on him at that position. We’re all getting older, that’s a fact. And just making him productive for the full season, I believe that some off days are smart for him to do to make him a better player. The goal is to be a good player and not to play 160. To be the best player you can be, that’s the goal.

“He wants to play, and I admire that. That’s a valuable trait. A day like today, I think, can really benefit him.”

The Cubs are 10 days into a stretch of 16 straight games without an off day. They had a quick turnaround from a night game Wednesday to a day game Thursday to wrap up a two-city road trip to Boston and New York.

Stolen bases

The Cubs took advantage of playing the Mets, one of the worst teams this year at preventing stolen bases, and stole six bags Thursday. They tied the Reds (April 14 at White Sox) and Guardians (March 30 at A’s) for the most stolen bases by a team in a single game. It was the most steals the Cubs had logged since June 3, 2008 at San Diego.

Before Thursday, the Cubs had only recorded 11 stolen bases this season.