Mets come up empty for deGrom and lose to Cubs again, 4-1

By MIKE FITZPATRICK
AP Baseball Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Jacob deGrom was outpitched by journeyman Adrian Sampson, and the frustrated New York Mets mustered little offense again in a 4-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs. Ian Happ homered deep into the second deck on a 99 mph heater from deGrom, and No. 9 batter David Bote added his second home run of the season for the Cubs, who won the series opener 5-2 on Monday. One night later, the scuffling Mets squandered another potential chance to increase their slim NL East lead over Atlanta, which played later in San Francisco. New York is 5-6 in a 16-game stretch against Washington, Pittsburgh, Miami and Chicago — all four of those teams are more than 20 games under .500 this season. Pete Alonso homered late for the Mets.