Box > Cubs struggle in ninth, lose to Mets Dempster, Eyre unable to hold four-run lead with two outs to go
Carlos Delgado hit a two-run single with one out in the ninth inning to cap a five-run rally and lift the Mets to a 6-5 victory over the Cubs, who blew a four-run lead and head home on Thursday with more questions than answers.
"They have a good team. They do a good job," Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster said of the Mets. "Tip your cap to them. Unfortunately, I didn't do my job today. I didn't do a very good job at all."
The Cubs led, 5-1, when Dempster was called upon in the ninth to face the bottom of the order. David Newhan singled to lead off and Ramon Castro flew out to right. The Cubs missed a potential double play as Newhan had to scramble to get back to first. Right fielder Matt Murton couldn't get the throw there in time.
Carlos Gomez then singled, and advanced on indifference. That prompted Cubs manager Lou Piniella to go to the mound for an animated talk with Dempster.
"I said, 'You've got a four-run lead,'" Piniella said of his conversation. "I said, 'Throw the ball.'"
Dempster then walked pinch-hitter Carlos Beltran to load the bases, and said something to home-plate umpire Eric Cooper after ball four. There was an exchange between the two, but Dempster avoided saying the magic words.
He then walked Endy Chavez to force in a run and gave up a single to Ruben Gotay to let the Mets close to 5-3. Dempster was pulled for Scott Eyre, who gave up a first-pitch RBI single to pinch-hitter David Wright, and Delgado followed with his game-winning single.
"I made the pitches I wanted to make," Eyre said. "David Wright, a sinker down and away. I got him to ground out two nights ago on it. This time, he hit it through the infield. I got a ground ball. I'm not going to sit here and whine about it."
Michael Wuertz had pitched 1 1/3 innings, giving up one walk. Will Ohman struck out four over 1 2/3 innings. Then it was Dempster's turn. The bullpen, which now has 11 losses, most in the National League, has been puzzling to Piniella.
"I'll tell you the truth, these guys have to do it," Piniella said of his relievers. "I don't know what else to say.
"We handed the ball over to the closer, and the last time he threw in Philadelphia, I told him it was the best I've seen him throw the ball all year."
The Cubs bullpen is going through a little slump.
"It's the same as hitting -- you struggle and you keep swinging," Eyre said. "You keep playing."
With the loss, the Cubs dropped to 6-13 in games decided by one or two runs, and 2-5 on the East Coast road trip. They're having a tough time getting back to .500.
"I just lost the game," Dempster said. "There ain't much more to say. Throw the ball over the plate and let them hit it, and when I did, they whacked it, and when I didn't, it cost us.
"It's tough when you get ahead of guys and don't put them away, and then fall behind guys and it ends up hurting you," he said. "I put guys in a tough situation of having to come in and save my garbage. It's a tough loss.
"We play a lot more baseball this year and a lot more games, and we just have to bounce back," he said. "They'll ask me to go out and do my job next time, and I have to be ready to go do it. It's tough, it [stinks]. It's happened before, it'll probably happen again. Hopefully, not in the near future."
What contributes to the hurt is that Angel Guzman was in line for his first Major League win. Aramis Ramirez and Angel Pagan each hit a two-run homer, and Ramirez added a RBI single to back Guzman.
The right-hander, who was 0-6 last season in his rookie year, gave up one run on six hits and two walks over five innings against the Mets. Guzman's outing was cut short when he had to leave the game after his at-bat in the sixth inning because of hamstring cramps in his right leg.
"On the mound, I was able to figure out what to do," Guzman said about the cramps, which began when he was pitching. "When I got to home plate, when I tried to swing, I felt like it got real tight, so that's why I said something."
"He was throwing the ball well and competing well, but he had cramps, and we had to get him out of the ballgame," Piniella said.
Guzman, 25, is lucky his teammates were as awake as they were. First pitch on Thursday was 12 hours 17 minutes after the last pitch of their rain-delayed game that began at 10:17 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
Mark DeRosa returned to the Cubs lineup after missing two games with a sprained ligament in his right hand.
"It's one of those things, I'm going to have to hang in there for a couple weeks," DeRosa said. "You ask anyone, I'm sure they have some nick or bruise that's bothering them."
With the game tied at 1 and one out in the sixth, Ryan Theriot reached on an infield single, and Pagan followed with his second home run off a 0-1 pitch that just clear the left-field fence. Alfonso Soriano singled, and Ramirez followed with his 10th home run, another line-drive shot to left. But it wasn't enough.
"There's no words for it," Pagan said. "We're just trying to win a ballgame."
On Tuesday, the Cubs scored 10 runs in a rout. On Wednesday, they managed two hits in an 8-1 loss. They were a little bleary eyed on Thursday from a lack of sleep. They were dazed after this game.
"We just have to get more consistent," Piniella said.
Carrie Muskat is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Carlos Delgado during a spring training game. Delgado hit in the winning runs in the bottom of the ninth.
The New York Mets hosted the Chicago Cubs at Shea Stadium in Flushing, New York, and was behind by five runs going into the ninth inning, but a rally brought them ahead at the end.

Cub starter Ángel Guzmán gave up six hits, but only allowed one run in his seven inning appearance, an RBI single by Endy Chávez in the fifth inning. Mets starter Jason Vargas gave up all five of the Cubs' runs: a sacrifice fly RBI in the fourth, and two two-run home runs in the sixth inning. Angel Pagán hit his second home run of the season with a two-run fly ball over the left field fence, scoring Endy Chávez. Two batters later, Aramis Ramírez picked up his tenth home run of the season with a two run line drive over the same fence, scoring Alfonso Soriano.

Cub pitcher Ryan Dempster got stuck in a jam in the bottom of the ninth, filling the bases and giving up two runs. Reliever Scott Eyre came in to try and end the game, but gave up two hits, including the two-run single by Carlos Delgado that gave the Mets not only their first lead of the game, but the win.

The Mets, who took the four-game series 3-1, are playing an inter-league game against the New York Yankees in a three-game "subway series" starting Friday. Meanwhile, the Cubs are preparing for their own inter-city, inter-league game at Wrigley Field against the Chicago White Sox.