Mets Beat Cubs, 3-2 in Citi Field, Thanks to Ben Campbell's Home Run

Zack Wheeler was amazing Friday night, striking out 10 in 6.2 innings of 2-run ball. Ben Campbell's 3-run HR was the difference in the Mets win.

For a more detailed recap of the game, click here.

My Take:

The Cubs, a team, with a very young and promising lineup (with many of the key pieces still in the minors for the time being), and the Mets, a team with a very young and exciting group of pitchers, squared off last night. Unfortunately for the Cubs, Travis Wood struggled with his command, and he said that "walks killed me."

Another big reason why the Cubs lost is because of their strikeouts. After the Brewers' Mike Fiers struck out 14 Cubs on Thursday afternoon, the young and budding Zack Wheeler struck out 10. The Cubs' failure to make contact has resulted in the Cubs' recent slide.

What's Next for the Cubs?

In the North Side, it's all about 2015 and beyond as far as contending goes. But looking at tonight in game 2 of the Cubs' series against the Mets, there is one guy that all Cubs fans should be keeping an eye on in particular tonight. That man is Dan Straily. The Cubs acquired Straily, along with #5 overall prospect Addison Russell, when they sent Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel to Billy Beane / Brad Pitt's Oakland Athletics.

Dan Straily, 25, will be making his Cubs MLB debut tonight against New York. Cubs manager Rick Renteria said Straily is being called up from Triple-A Iowa to give the rest of the rotation an extra days' rest. The team is in a stretch of having a game on 20 straight days. Chicago OF Junior Lake is being sent to Iowa.

The Mets counter Straily and the Cubs tonight by sending Jonathon Niese to the hill. Niese, 6-8 this year, is 2-4 with a 5.26 ERA against Chicago. Starlin Castro is 5 for 16 (.313) with a homer and five RBIs against the left-hander.

Click here for a preview of tonight's game.


***Information from ESPN, ESPN Chicago, and Bleacher Report was used in this post.