Stephen Piscotty singled in Molina to break a 4-4 tie in the seventh. Carp

NEW YORK -- Jake Arrieta was not accustomed to this.The NL Cy Young Award winner started his first eight batters with balls.He went to 3-2 counts four times in a 35-pitch first inning, allowing Neil Walkers two-run homer.Its frustrating for me, because I expect a lot more out of myself, he said Saturday night after the New York Mets beat the Chicago Cubs 4-3 in Arrietas first regular-season road loss in 14 months.Just after Anthony Rizzo tied the score with a two-run, fourth-inning homer off Bartolo Colon, Travis dArnaud blooped a two-run single in the bottom half that sent the Mets to their third straight win in the four-game series, which ends Sunday.Arrieta (12-3) has lost three times in six starts, giving up four runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings against the defending NL champions.Poor performance on my end, he said. Just didnt get the effort my team needed tonight. I needed to be more of a stopper, put a stop to the bleeding.He had been 19-0 in 24 regular-season road starts since losing at St. Louis on May 7, 2015 -- to current teammate John Lackey. Arrieta is the only pitcher since 1913 to win 19 consecutive road decisions. However, he lost Game 2 of last years NL Championship Series at Citi Field.Believe me, were all going to be in for a treat when this all gets straightened out, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. Hes going to look like he did last year.Arrieta said issues with mechanics were overblown.Were spinning our wheels a little bit too much trying to figure out what the solution is, or is there a problem, he said. I just need to pitch better. Thats the bottom line.Rookie Brandon Nimmo walked leading off the first, and Walker sent a 94 mph sinker off the facing of the second deck in right. Walker had been 4 for 28 against Arrieta, including the postseason.He just wasnt throwing as many strikes early in the count as Ive been accustomed to facing him, Walker said. When youre 1-0, 2-1 with everybody, it makes it difficult to use that entire arsenal.With the score 2-2 in the fourth and runners at first and second, dArnaud popped a ball into short center field, in the middle of a triangle formed by center fielder Jason Heyward, second baseman Javier Baez and shortstop Addison Russell. On a full run toward the outfield and with his back to home plate, Baez reached up with his right, bare hand, but the ball glanced off it and fell to the ground as two runs scored. Baez had just entered the game at second base.Colon (7-4) allowed two runs and four hits in six innings, and Ben Zobrist homered off Erik Goeddel in the seventh.Addison Reed struck out Kris Bryant to end the seventh with the potential tying run on second, and then struck out the side in the eighth after Rizzos leadoff single. Jeurys Familia got three straight outs to convert his 44th consecutive save chance, including a major league-leading 28 this season.Chicago lost for the ninth time in 13 games but still has the best record in the major leagues at 51-29. After getting swept in a three-game series at Washington, the Mets can sweep four from the Cubs.We want to finish it off tomorrow, Mets manager Terry Collins said.LOOKING AHEADArrieta is to start Friday at Pittsburgh, putting him in position for a possible start for Collins of the Mets in the All-Star Game at San Diego on July 12.JUST PLAIN LOOKINGPlate umpire Laz Diaz called nine batters out on strikes, including five Cubs. When Baez was called out leading off the ninth, he held out both arms, and Maddon yelled from the dugout.The amorphic strike zone tonight was really difficult for both sides, Maddon said.CUBS ROTATIONRight-hander Adam Warren is to start Wednesday against Cincinnati at Wrigley Field, following Kyle Hendricks and John Lackey. Maddon said Warren could get a start after the All-Star break but because of a July 21 off day, it was unlikely he would go with a six-man rotation two turns in a row.TRAINERS ROOMCubs: RF Chris Coghlan left after three innings because of right ribcage soreness.UP NEXTLHP Jon Lester (9-3) is to start Sundays series final for the Cubs and RHP Noah Syndergaard (8-3) for the Mets. Lester is 2-0 with a 2.50 ERA in three regular-season starts against the Mets but lost last years NL Championship Series opener to Matt Harvey. china jerseys . According the Toronto Star, a knee injury will keep Sundin out of the lineup, which includes former teammates Gary Roberts, Darcy Tucker, Tie Domi and Curtis Joseph. cheap china jerseys . Already owning gold from competition in Vancouver in 2010, Loch posted a combined four-run time of 3:27.526. That included a track-record third run of 51. https://www.chinajerseysreplica.us/ . -- PGA TOUR Canada member Steve Saunders took a three-stroke lead Saturday in the Web. wholesale jerseys china . 10 Texas A&Ms offence dominated as usual against SMU. fake jerseys china . Argentina winger Ezequiel Lavezzi and France midfielder Blaise Matuidi scored, with star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic setting up both despite having a poor game by his high standards. Forward Eduardo gave Ajaccio the lead in the sixth minute after being set up by right winger Benjamin Andre, and the Corsican side looked comfortable in the first half, with the lively Johan Cavalli causing problems with his probing runs from midfield. ST. LOUIS -- All season long, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny set 10 games over .500 as a target for his team.St. Louis, on its 10th try, finally reached that mark with a 10-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday, but the Cardinals still missed the playoffs for the first time since 2010.Matt Carpenter homered, and Randal Grichuk keyed a six-run seventh-inning with a two-run double to lead St. Louis to its fourth win in a row. But the Cardinals (86-76) were eliminated while still on the field when San Francisco (87-75) beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-1 and earned the second NL wild card.Thats the danger when its not in your hands anymore, Matheny said. Our focus was to take care of our own business, and we did that.St. Louis starter Adam Wainwright allowed two runs and six hits in six innings. He did not get a decision.To miss the playoffs by one game, thats tough to swallow, Wainwright said. You think about how many times you couldve won games or just one or two games, and you didnt. It gets you to thinking back a little bit.St. Louis outfielder Matt Holliday was briefly brought into the game to play left field in the ninth inning. He was given a standing ovation and taken out before the first pitch. The Cardinals announced Friday that they plan to decline his 2017 option and allow him to become a free agent.How special was that? Matheny said. What instigated it was the response of the fans, so badly they wanted to see him one more time.St. Louis was a big league-best 100-62 last year but lost to the Chicago Cubs in the division series. The Cardinals never led the NL Central at any point this season and finished with a losing record at home (38-43) for the first time since 1999.AAnytime you dont win the World Series, its disappointing, infielder Aledmys Diaz?said.dddddddddddd But we kept coming and never let down.To get close, it definitely makes it a little more disappointing, Carpenter said. But thats the nature of the business. Theres only [one] team that doesnt have this day.After making the playoffs in three straight seasons, Pittsburgh dropped from 98-64 to 78-83.Yadier Molina had three hits for the Cardinals. Stephen Piscotty singled in Molina to break a 4-4 tie in the seventh. Carpenter hit his 21st homer of the season off Antonio Bastardo for a 4-2 lead.?Jonathan Broxton (4-2) won despite allowing two runs in one inning of relief.Juan Nicasio (10-7) gave up three runs without recording an out in the seventh.?Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run single in the fifth to give his team a 2-1 lead.Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle is ready to move on from the disappointing campaign.Forty-one years in the game, and I honor the game, I respect the game, Hurdle said. And Ive also gotten very good on closing the book when its time to close the book.Pittsburgh catcher Eric Fryer had two hits in a losing cause.I think down the stretch, we definitely competed, Fryer said. Theres a lot of optimism here with a lot of young arms.PACK THE PLACEA crowd of 44,615, the 19th sellout of the season, watched the final game.St. Louis drew 3,444,490, second to the Los Angeles Dodgers in major league home attendance. It was the fifth-highest attendance total in franchise history and the 13th successive year that the team has drawn at least three million. ' ' '