Kyle Hendricks outpitched Jonathon Niese in a matchup of feeble offenses, and Matt Szczur provided the one big hit Tuesday night as the Chicago Cubs snapped a five-game skid with a 1-0 victory over the New York Mets.
Hendricks (3-4) pitched three-hit ball for six innings and combined with three relievers to bail out the Cubs, who scored just six runs during their losing streak.
Szczur had an RBI double off Niese (3-8) in the sixth, the team's only hit in five chances with runners in scoring position. It was enough to end a four-game winning streak for the Mets, who lost 1-0 for the fourth time in two months.
New York fell to 0-5 against the Cubs this year, including four defeats by one run. Chicago completed a four-game sweep of the Mets at Wrigley Field in May.
Chicago was 4 for 37 with runners in scoring position while dropping two to the Dodgers and getting swept by NL Central-rival St. Louis recently. Hoping to make the slump disappear, manager Joe Maddon pulled out one of his tension-cutting tricks: He hired a magician to entertain the team before the game.
Maddon also brought organization hitting consultant Manny Ramirez to New York.
But the Cubs managed only four hits against the Mets, whose pitchers have yielded just five runs in the last 51 innings (0.88 ERA).
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Hendricks was winless in his last three starts and hadn't gotten an out beyond the fifth since going six innings June 2 against Miami. The team that entered Tuesday 27th in the majors in runs was a good tonic for his troubles.
The right-hander walked one and struck out six, not allowing a runner past second base. In two career starts against the Mets, he's allowed one run and six hits over 13 innings.
Hector Rondon and Pedro Strop each pitched a hitless inning before Jason Motte finished the three-hitter for his third save. The game took only 2 hours, 22 minutes.
New York activated Daniel Murphy from the disabled list Tuesday, the first game in a stretch in which the Mets play seven of their next nine series against opponents who are above .500, including the first-place Cardinals, Nationals and Dodgers — with two sets against Washington and Los Angeles.
Murphy doubled in four at-bats, ending the game with a flyout to center field. But the rest of the lineup that scored 15 runs in 10 games before Sunday, when rookie pitcher Steven Matz had three hits and four RBIs in a 7-2 win over Cincinnati, did little to support Niese.
The left-hander gave up four hits and a run in seven innings against a team thought to be interested in possibly trading for him. He is winless in a career-high nine starts.
Szczur doubled off the wall in left field two outs after Kris Bryant walked leading off the sixth.
The Cubs had the bases loaded in the third, but Chris Denorfia flied out.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Cubs: OF Jorge Soler (sprained left ankle) went 0 for 3 with a strikeout and an RBI on Monday in his first rehab game, for Triple-A Iowa.
Mets: LF Michael Cuddyer was lifted before the top of the seventh because of a sore left knee. ... C Travis d'Arnaud (elbow) was in the clubhouse, wearing a big brace on his left arm. He said he was feeling "better every day," but did not know when he'll be able to discard the brace. ... RHP Jenrry Mejia (elbow, drug suspension) pitched a scoreless inning for Triple-A Las Vegas on Monday night. Manager Terry Collins said Mejia's velocity is better than it was last year.
UP NEXT
Cubs: LHP Jon Lester (4-6) will surely be happy that he's starting on July 1. He finished June 0-3 with a 5.74 ERA. He faced the Mets once this season, yielding three runs in six innings of a 4-3 win.
Mets: Bartolo Colon (9-6) has never beaten the Cubs, one of two teams the 42-year-old right-hander remains winless against. He is 0-2 with a 4.73 ERA.
