CHICAGO — A hot starting pitcher and a comparable batting lineup collided on Friday to produce a giant fireball emblazoned with the Mets logo.
Shota Imanaga, the leading candidate for National League Rookie of the Year, was thrashed early on as the Mets resumed the scathing offensive tactics they had begun in their previous home game.
How bad was it for the Cubs’ left-handers?
Consider that he started the afternoon pitching with a 1.89 ERA and finished with a 2.96 ERA, so you could say it was a tough day at work, or in this case, at the Friendly Confines.
The Mets hit three home runs against Imanaga and cruised to an 11-1 victory at Wrigley Field.
It was the Mets’ eighth win in nine games, after their seven-game winning streak was ended two days earlier in Texas.
The Mets got home runs from J.D. Martinez, Francisco Alvarez and Brandon Nimmo, and have now scored double figures three times in their past five games.
Jose Iglesias improved the team’s offensive power with four hits in five at-bats.
This season, Imanaga had only allowed two or more runs in one start. On this day, he gave up 10 runs on 11 hits and left the game after pitching more than three innings.
Jose Quintana led 6-1 going into the third inning and pitched 6 1/3 innings. The left-hander allowed four hits, one walk, struck out eight and allowed one earned run in his second consecutive solid outing.
The parade began with Francisco Lindor leading off with a double, Pete Alonso walking and Martinez hitting a three-run homer in the first inning.
The home run was Martinez’s ninth of the season, who began the month with a .936 OPS in June.
Against Quintana, the Cubs had the bases loaded in the first inning thanks to Mark Vientos’ first error of the season.
But Christopher Morrell hit into a double play (scoring one run) to kill any chance the Cubs had for a big inning.
Alvarez homered as leadoff hitter in the second inning. It was his first home run since returning from the disabled list last week. His only home run this season came on March 30.
Before the inning ended, Nimmo hit a two-run homer to extend the Mets’ lead to 6-1.
The home run was Nimmo’s third in five games against three different teams (previously the Padres and Rangers).
Imanaga hit as hard as he could through the third inning, allowing a double to leadoff batter Alonso, but then advanced to third base on a single by Starling Marte.
After Alonso was tagged out on a grounder between third base and home plate, Iglesias hit a timely hit to give the Mets a 7-1 lead.
Martinez singled in the fourth inning to bring in the fourth run of the game. The comeback began with a leadoff double by Lindor and a single by Nimmo.
But the Mets weren’t done yet. A walk by Alonso and a fielder’s choice hit by Marte put the Mets up 9-1. Iglesias followed with a two-run single to keep the Mets going.
