Mets spoil Ryne Sandberg's day, beating Cubs 5-2 after Díaz ejected before throwing a pitch
CHICAGO - Luis Severino tossed six shutout innings, Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo hit back-to-back homers and the New York Mets topped the Chicago Cubs 5-2 on Sunday night after closer Edwin Díaz was ejected in the ninth before throwing a pitch.
Díaz came on to try to seal the victory, but was tossed for having a foreign substance after umpires inspected his right hand and glove. Per Major League Baseball’s rules, a player faces a 10-game suspension if they are found to have used illegal foreign substances.
Díaz said he does "the same thing always" before he pitches: a mix of rosin and sweat on his hand, which he also rubs in the dirt.
"That's what I was explaining to them, but they said it was too much stick," he said, later adding he was "really surprised" by the ejection.
He was not certain whether he’d appeal the suspension.
"They thought he crossed the line there," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. "Obviously, the rules are the rules and they made the decision to throw him out."
Drew Smith got two outs in place of Díaz before Jake Diekman struck out pinch-hitter Patrick Wisdom for his third save for the Mets, who have won four straight series.
Severino (5-2) struck out a season-high 10 and allowed three hits for New York, which has won 10 of 13 and improved to 13-6 in June. Mark Vientos added a solo homer for the Mets.
"I love those kinds of games," Severino said. "I was feeling good today. The secondary pitches were good and we executed."
Christopher Morel homered for Chicago, which has dropped 10 of its last 16.
Javier Assad (4-3), who has gone seven starts without a win, gave up seven hits and walked one in 4 1/3 innings.
New York’s victory came hours after the Cubs unveiled a statue of Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg outside Wrigley Field.
The Mets made Assad throw a lot of pitches early as four of their first eight batters went to full counts. They finally broke through in the third, when Lindor followed Harrison Bader's double with his 13th home run into the left field bleachers.
"I’ll take ’em whenever I can get those," Lindor said. "Just happy I was able to contribute to today’s win."
Nimmo drove his 11th to almost the same place four pitches later.
"Mistakes kind of out over the plate," Cubs manager Craig Counsell said of the two long balls. "They put two balls in the seats."
J.D. Martinez added an RBI in the fifth and Vientos homered off Tyson Miller in the eighth.
Severino gave way to Dedniel Núñez, who surrendered a two-run homer to Morel in the seventh.
RYNO'S SPECIAL DAY
Sandberg became the fifth Cubs player honored with a statue, joining fellow Hall of Famers Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, Billy Williams and Ferguson Jenkins outside the park’s left field entrance.
The 10-time All-Star played 15 of his 16 seasons in Chicago and finished his career with a .285 batting average, 282 home runs, 1,061 RBIs and nine Gold Glove awards.
The club retired Sandberg’s No. 23 during the 2005 season, the same summer he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. He and his family led the seventh-inning stretch singalong.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Cubs: RHP Mark Leiter Jr. was placed on the 15-day injured list before the game with a strained forearm. ... LHP Luke Little was recalled from Triple-A Iowa.
UP NEXT
Mets: Have off Monday before sending LHP David Peterson (3-0, 3.97 ERA) against RHP Gerrit Cole (0-0, 4.50) for Tuesday night’s crosstown visit from the New York Yankees.
Cubs: Neither the Cubs nor Giants announced a starter for Monday night’s series opener in San Francisco.
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