Brett Baty belted a three-run homer, Francisco Lindor also went deep and rookie Nolan McLean struck out 11 batters, fueling the visiting New York Mets to an 8-5 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Thursday.

The Mets (82-77) won the decisive contest of the three-game series to remain one game ahead of the Cincinnati Reds (81-78) for the final National League wild-card spot. The Reds, who own the tiebreaker over New York, recorded a 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates earlier on Thursday.

Lindor recorded his second career 30-homer, 30-stolen base season after his solo shot in the third inning sailed over the wall in left field and onto Waveland Avenue. Lindor had 31 homers and 31 stolen bases in 2023. This year, he has 31 steals.

Seiya Suzuki launched a solo shot in the fourth inning, hi

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