Cubs takeaways: What we learned as offense struggles in loss to Mets
Just because April is over doesn’t mean the Cubs are done with the gauntlet.
Friday’s 7-2 loss to the New York Mets was a stark reminder that there are still roadblocks Chicago needs to clear before their schedule eases up. The Cubs have now lost three straight, their worst streak of the season thus far.
Here are three takeaways as the Cubs (22-17) fell to the Mets (25-14) on a rainy evening at Citi Field.
Big-fly Big Apple
It was one of those days for Jameson Taillon, who did not get the nicest welcome back to New York City. Taillon had given up just three home runs in his previous five starts combined — but that did not matter to the Mets. Shortstop Francisco Lindor wasted almost no time getting his team on the board as he sent Taillon’s third pitch of the game 388 feet for a leadoff home run.
The Mets didn’t let up there. In the second inning, Brett Baty took Taillon opposite field to double New York’s lead. Two batters later, Jeff McNeil made it 3-0, and suddenly Taillon was in a very tough spot after just 1 ⅓ innings pitched.
Some bad luck followed for Taillon in the third, as what would have been an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded instead scored two runs on an uncharacteristic Dansby Swanson throwing error.
Kyle Tucker hit his 10th home run of the year to pull a run back for the Cubs in the fourth, but the Mets’ $765 million man Juan Soto answered right back in the bottom half with a loud, 434-foot bomb.
Soto effectively put the nail in Taillon’s night as the Cubs’ starter exited the game after four frames, allowing five earned runs on nine hits while striking out four.
Tale of two titans
This weekend’s showdown was bound to be a fun one: The Cubs entered the series with MLB’s No. 1 offense (5.87 runs per game) and the Mets own the best starting pitching staff (2.71 ERA).
The Mets sent Clay Holmes to the bump to tame an already-cold Cubs offense, who only managed six total runs over their previous two games against the San Francisco Giants.
Unfortunately for Cubs hitters, Holmes looked like a Cy Young contender Friday night. He allowed just one run on three hits and struck out five Cubs through six innings. Two of the Cubs’ three hits off of Holmes came as extra-base knocks in the fourth inning: Tucker’s solo home run and Michael Busch’s double.
Busch added his seventh home run of the season in the top of the ninth, but it was too little and too late to mount an improbable comeback.
Maybe it’s just May
The month of May has become infamous for the Cubs in the past few seasons.
In 2023, they went 10-18 (.357) over the month, with a five-game skid in that period becoming their longest of the season. Last year, it was the same exact thing: 10-18, season-worst five-game losing streak.
This doesn’t mean the 2025 Cubs will struggle as much as years past — they have a better team now, and much of the month is filled with series against weaker teams.
Still, it means that Cubs hitters need to step up far more than they have since April concluded.
Seiya Suzuki is slashing just .129/.156/.323 so far this month, including a 2-for-30 clip (.067) over his last seven games. It’s a staunch contrast from Suzuki’s April which saw him hit .321 with six home runs and 22 RBI.
Similarly, Pete Crow-Armstrong is just 3-for-14 (.214) with one RBI and one extra-base hit since the series against the Giants began.
The Cubs will look to even the series Saturday with Brad Keller (3.72 ERA, 16 2/3 innings pitched) slated to open a bullpen game for Chicago. The Mets have 6-foot-7 righthander Tylor Megill (3-2, 2.50 ERA) scheduled to take the mound in the matchup.
