Kelly homers as the Cubs hand the Mets their 10th straight loss with a 4-2 victory

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CHICAGO (AP) — Pinch-hitter Carson Kelly connected for a tiebreaking three-run homer in the sixth inning, and the Chicago Cubs handed the New York Mets their 10th consecutive loss with a 4-2 victory on Saturday.

Ian Happ also homered for Chicago in its fourth consecutive win. Jameson Taillon (1-1) pitched six crisp innings.

It's the longest losing streak for New York since it dropped 11 in a row from Aug. 28 to Sept. 8 in 2004. It has been outscored 60-18 during the slide.

The game was tied at 1 when Mets right-hander Freddy Peralta (1-2) issued two consecutive walks with two down in the sixth. Peralta then was replaced by left-hander Brooks Raley, and Kelly was sent up to hit for Moisés Ballesteros, a rookie who bats from the left side.

Kelly drove Raley's first pitch into the bleachers in left-center for his second homer of the season, sending a charge through the crowd of 36,189. It was Kelly's second career pinch-hit drive.

It also was the first homer allowed by Raley since Aug. 13, 2023, stopping a streak of 53 2/3 innings.

Mark Vientos homered for New York. Francisco Lindor and Luis Robert Jr. each had two hits.

The Mets scored an unearned run on second baseman Nico Hoerner's throwing error in the eighth, but Ben Brown escaped the jam when Vientos grounded out.

Caleb Thielbar handled the ninth for his first save of the season. Daniel Palencia, Chicago's usual closer, was placed on the 15-day injured list on Friday with a left oblique strain.

New York jumped in front on Vientos' 434-foot drive to left-center in the second. He went 1 for 25 with eight strikeouts and no walks in his previous eight games.

Happ responded with a leadoff shot in the bottom half, a 431-foot drive to center. Happ also went deep during Chicago's 12-4 victory in the series opener.

Tobias Myers (0-1, 3.46 ERA) starts the series finale for New York, and fellow right-hander Javier Assad (1-1, 8.10 ERA) pitches for Chicago on Sunday. David Peterson had been slated to start for the Mets, and the team did not immediately announce a reason for the change.

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