NEW YORK METS (40-37, second place/NL East) vs. CHICAGO CUBS (39-35, third place/NL Central)
Tuesday: LHP Jonathon Niese (3-7, 4.12) vs. RHP Kyle Hendricks (2-4, 4.46), 7:10 p.m. ET
Wednesday: RHP Bartolo Colon (9-6, 4.89) vs. LHP Jon Lester (4-6, 4.03), 7:10 p.m. ET
Thursday: RHP Jacob deGrom (8-5, 2.15) vs. RHP Jake Arrieta (7-5, 2.94), 1:10 p.m. ET
CUBS SHORT HOPS
Ex-Met Mike Baxter is hitting .267 with two RBIs in 45 at-bats. He has made six starts in right field, sharing duty with Chris Denorfia at the position now that Jorge Soler is on the disabled list with a left ankle sprain. Soler suffered the injury on June 1. He is due to begin a rehab assignment.
Jon Lester, who signed a six-year, $155 million contract in December, is winless since May 16. He went 0-3 with a 5.74 ERA in five starts in June. Cubs starting pitchers are averaging only 5.4 innings per start this month, second worst in the National League.
The Cubs arrive in Queens on a season-high five-game losing streak. They have scored 11 runs in their past seven games. Chicago went 2-for-27 with runners in scoring position while getting swept in a weekend series by the St. Louis Cardinals.
First baseman Anthony Rizzo leads the Cubs in batting average (.304), homers (15), RBIs (44), on-base percentage (.413) and hits (83).
Third baseman Kris Bryant leads qualified major league rookies in batting average (.273) and RBIs (43). He is tied for third among rookies in homers with 10, trailing only the Dodgers’ Joc Pederson (19) and Rays’ Steven Souza Jr. (14). Still, Bryant is 5-for-34 in his past 10 games.
Rookie second baseman Addison Russell is slumping. He is 3-for-25 in his past seven games.
Broadcaster Bob Costas apologized to reliever Pedro Strop in person at the team’s hotel this past weekend. After Strop allowed a homer, hit a batter and issued a walk on Friday, then did his customary point to the sky as he departed, Costas said on TV: “Motte is on his way in, Strop is on his way out, pointing toward the heavens. We can only ask, or wonder that he is asking some departed relative for forgiveness for this atrocious performance.”
