The elements that largely have been missing from the Mets’ offensive attack this season were right there, for a change, in a celebratory seventh inning Thursday night.
In a rare scrap session, the Mets put two hits around a walk in the inning and then watched the Cubs implode with a key defensive miscue. Somehow, the Mets escaped Citi Field with a 4-3 comeback victory that snapped their four-game losing streak.
“It’s got to lift the spirits of everybody in there that they could come back and win a game, which we haven’t done in awhile,” manager Terry Collins said after the Mets scored three runs in the seventh and then watched Jeurys Familia escape big trouble in the ninth.
The Mets could exhale, after a hellacious road trip in which they lost five of seven games — including getting swept three games in Washington — and appeared completely exposed at the plate.
Steven Matz was good enough into the sixth inning for the Mets and the bullpen handled the rest, which included Familia’s high-wire act that ended with his 27th save in as many chances this season.
Ben Zobrist’s double in the ninth put runners on second and third with nobody out before Familia struck out Kris Bryant. After an intentional walk to Anthony Rizzo, the righty struck out Willson Contreras and retired on a pop-up Javier Baez to end it.
The Mets received the break they needed in the seventh, when Neil Walker hit a grounder against a drawn-in infield that the second baseman Baez grabbed and threw away attempting to nail Brandon Nimmo at third. Nimmo raced home behind Alejandro De Aza on the play, giving the Mets a 4-3 lead.
Nimmo had brought life to the home crowd by delivering an RBI single on the ninth pitch of his at-bat against reliever Joel Peralta.
“This is just something I have dreamed about since I was a kid,” Nimmo said. “To be able to help the team somehow, it feels good to contribute.”
After falling behind 1-2, Nimmo patiently fouled off pitches before working the count full and slashing a single through the middle that pulled the Mets within 3-2. It was the first major-league RBI for Nimmo, whose debut came last Saturday.
“You’re here for a reason and you just try to keep it short and simple and have confidence in yourself,” Nimmo said.
The go-ahead rally in the seventh started with Travis d’Arnaud’s single against John Lackey and a rare contribution from the struggling De Aza, who drew a pinch-hit walk.
“[De Aza] has had a tough start to the season thus far, but that was a big at-bat for us,” Collins said.
The Mets received a mediocre outing from Matz, who has been bothered by a bone spur in his left elbow for his last several starts.
The lefty lasted 5 ¹/₃ innings and allowed three earned runs — on two homers — with seven hits and three walks. He was removed in the sixth, after Baez had homered to give the Cubs a 3-0 lead and two more runners reached base in the inning. But Matz caught a break when Matt Szczur was picked off first — officially a caught stealing — to get him an out. Erik Goeddel got the final two outs in the inning after Matz had walked Addison Russell.
Yoenis Cespedes got the Mets on the board in the sixth with a monstrous home run that reached the upper deck in left. It was the 19th homer for Cespedes, but only his fourth in June.
“I think it woke us up,” Collins said. “He hasn’t hit one in awhile and that was a big one, so I really think that got the guys energized.”