Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - Anthony Rizzo's tie-breaking solo homer in the bottom of the seventh inning propelled the Chicago Cubs to their first series sweep of the season, capped by Thursday's 7-4 triumph over the New York Mets.
Rizzo finished 2-for-4 and Junior Lake had a two-run triple in Chicago's third victory against the Mets in as many days. Starting pitcher Travis Wood drove in three runs, two of which came on a homer in the second inning.
Wood walked five and hit a batter in five-plus innings on the mound, but held the Mets to two runs while not factoring in the final outcome. Justin Grimm (2-2) received the win despite allowing a game-tying two-run homer to Andrew Brown in the top of the seventh.
Ruben Tejada and Chris Young added RBI singles for New York. Mets starter Jacob deGrom lasted just five innings, permitting four runs while walking three.
After the Mets roared back from a 4-0 deficit with a two-run sixth inning and Brown's blast in the top of the seventh, Rizzo put Chicago back in front by hammering a fastball from Vic Black (1-1) deep into the seats in right-center in the Cubs' portion of the inning.
"At [a] 3-1 [count] I don't think [Black] wants to walk a batter there, and he's got pretty good stuff, too," said Rizzo. "He challenged me and it worked out for me."
Lake's two-out triple into the gap in right center provided some insurance in the eighth, coming after the Mets opted to intentionally walk Emilio Bonifacio with Darwin Barney stationed at second.
Neil Ramirez had no trouble protecting the three-run lead in the ninth, retiring the side in order for his first career save.
"Anytime you can take a series and then potentially a sweep like we did today, it's a good thing," said Cubs manger Rick Renteria. "Those guys have been battling and they continue to grind."
Wood had yielded just one hit through the first three innings and helped his cause in the second with his eighth career homer, part of a three-run frame extended by a successful challenge by Renteria.
Luis Valbuena reached on a leadoff double and later took third on a force play before attempting to score on an Eli Whiteside fly ball. He was called out on a strong throw from Brown in left, but replays showed he narrowly evaded Travis d'Arnaud's tag and the call was overturned for the game's first run.
Wood then swatted deGrom's next pitch deep into the bleachers for a 3-0 advantage.
Chicago tacked on another run off deGrom an inning later when Barney doubled, moved to third on a grounder and beat Tejada's throw home on Wood's bouncer to short.
"My stuff was good, I just struggled with command," said deGrom. "I got behind a lot of people and had to pitch to them. That pretty much sums it up."
The Mets failed to score despite loading the bases in the top of the fourth, but a walk to Brown in the sixth was followed by singles from Wilmer Flores and Tejada that got New York on the board. Young cut the lead to 4-2 soon afterward with a bloop single off Brian Schlitter that plated Flores.
Grimm came on for Chicago in the seventh and surrendered a one-out single to Eric Campbell that preceded Brown's homer to left center.
Game Notes
The three-game sweep was the Cubs' first at Wrigley Field since July 13-15, 2012 against Arizona, and first over the Mets in Chicago since April 23-25, 2004 ... Brown had been recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas prior to the game ... Wood's homer was his second this season, also having connected against Arizona on April 21 ... The Mets went 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position for the game and 4-for-30 in those situations during the series ... Barney ended 2-for-4 with two doubles and three runs scored ... Chicago chose Indiana catcher/outfielder Kyle Schwarber fourth overall in Thursday's MLB Draft, with the Mets taking Oregon State outfielder Michael Conforto with the No. 10 pick.
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