The New York Mets briefly lost control of their playoff destiny when they lost 11 of 15 games. But on Tuesday, they regained the upper hand following their spirited victory over the Chicago Cubs.

Fresh off overcoming a five-run deficit in a 9-7 win in the opener of a three-game series, New York will look to strengthen its tenuous grip on the final wild-card spot in the National League when it visits Chicago on Wednesday night.

The victory by the Mets (81-76) moved them one game ahead of the Cincinnati Reds (80-77) in the wild-card battle. The Reds, in turn, saw their five-game winning streak end with a 4-2 setback to the Pittsburgh Pirates earlier on Tuesday. Cincinnati, however, would hold the tiebreaker should it finish tied with New York by virtue of winning four of the six games in t

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