New York Mets at Chicago Cubs

Christopher Morel homers again as Chicago Cubs beat New York Mets 7-2

That's life these days for the affable Morel.

“Every day is a new opportunity for me,” he said.

Morel extended his homer streak to five games, helping the Chicago Cubs cool off the New York Mets with a 7-2 victory Tuesday night.

Matt Mervis and Seiya Suzuki also connected for the Cubs in the opener of a nine-game homestand. Dansby Swanson and Yan Gomes each had a run-scoring single, and Drew Smyly pitched four-hit ball into the sixth inning.

Morel hit a solo shot against Stephen Nogosek in the seventh, becoming the first player with a five-game homer streak for Chicago since Sammy Sosa in June 1998. Morel, another Dominican Republic native, was born a year later, in June 1999.

“He's a threat. As soon as he steps in the box, he's in scoring position,” Cubs manager David Ross said. “He hits the ball as hard as anybody.”

It was the ninth homer in 12 games for Morel, who was recalled from Triple-A Iowa on May 8. He became the first big leaguer to hit at least nine homers in his first 12 games in a season since Luis Gonzalez for Arizona in 2001.

Morel also has at least one hit and one run in his 12 games, matching the franchise record to begin a season established by Hank Sauer in 1954. And Morel is shooting for more.

“I can be better every day,” he said.

New York had won five in a row — all by one run. But Tylor Megill (5-3) turned in his worst start of the season and Tommy Pham committed a costly error, sending manager Buck Showalter to the loss on his 67th birthday.

Pete Alonso hit his big league-best 18th homer for the Mets, who dropped to 13-15 in a majors-high 28 road games.

“Every season's its own entity, but I mean I do feel really, really good right now,” Alonso said. “So just need to stay right here where I'm at.”

Suzuki opened the Cubs' four-run second with a leadoff drive to center for his fifth homer in his last eight games. Gomes added a two-out RBI single on a high chopper to third, and Mervis made it 4-0 with a two-run shot for his first homer at Wrigley since he was brought up from Iowa on May 5.

Mervis and Swanson tacked on two-out RBI singles in the fourth. Mervis drove in Mike Tauchman, who reached second when his leadoff liner was dropped by Pham in left.

Megill was charged with six runs, four earned, and six hits in 3 2/3 innings. The 6-foot-7 right-hander was 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA in his previous two starts.

“Just turn the page, get ready for the next one,” Megill said.

New York had a chance to get back in the game when Smyly (5-1) was replaced by Jeremiah Estrada with the bases loaded and no outs in the sixth. But Estrada limited the damage to one run on Alonso's grounder to third.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Mets: 2B Eduardo Escobar appeared to tweak his right knee while making a play on Swanson's grounder in the first. But he stayed in the game. ... C Tomás Nido (dry eye syndrome) went 1 for 4 in his fourth rehab game for Class A St. Lucie. ... Showalter said OF Tim Locastro is going to have surgery on his injured right thumb. He wasn't sure how long Locastro would be sidelined. ... Showalter said he watched video of RHP José Quintana (left rib fracture) throwing, and he looks good. “Then I get a little down about seeing their schedule with him,” Showalter said. “It reminds me that he's just starting spring training.”

Cubs: RHP Kyle Hendricks (shoulder strain) likely will return to Chicago's rotation at some point during the team's nine-game homestand. He hasn't pitched in a big league game since July 5. ... OF Cody Bellinger (left knee contusion) tracked pitches in the bullpen after doing some light drill work during the team's series in Philadelphia. ... RHP Codi Heuer (recovery from Tommy John) is expected to throw again in the next few days.

UP NEXT

Right-handers Kodai Senga (4-2, 3.77 ERA) and Marcus Stroman (3-4, 3.05 ERA) pitch on Wednesday night. Senga is coming off a dominant performance for New York, striking out 12 while throwing six innings of one-run ball in a no-decision against Tampa Bay. Stroman is 1-2 with a 4.35 ERA in four May starts for Chicago.

Follow Jay Cohen at https://twitter.com/jcohenap

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