Cubs  5    Mets  3

Recap: NY Mets vs. Chicago Cubs

Sports Network | September 5, 2009

Flushing, NY (Sports Network) - Derrek Lee belted two homers and drove in three runs, helping the Cubs secure a 5-3 win over the New York Mets in the second of three games from Citi Field.

Lee recorded his 21st career multi-homer game and third this season for the Cubs, who had lost four of six and sit seven games behind Colorado in the NL wild card chase. He finished with three hits and three runs scored in the win.

"It'll be a good story. It was fun today," said Lee, who missed the last two games to witness the birth of his second child, Dylan. "I told my daughter before I left -- because she always tells me to hit a home run -- that I have to hit one for her and Dylan. I felt pretty good. My first at-bat my timing was off a little bit, but I settled in after that."

Aramis Ramirez added a two-run homer, while Rich Harden (9-8) allowed two runs -- one earned -- on seven hits and a walk in five innings to grab the win. Harden also fanned 10 batters, and Carlos Marmol pitched 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to earn his ninth save of the season.

Cory Sullivan hit a solo homer for the Mets, who had a brief two-game winning streak snapped. Nelson Figueroa (2-4), who defeated the Cubs in his last start, allowed four runs on seven hits with two walks and eight strikeouts in six innings to absorb the loss.

After the Mets tied the game in the fourth, the Cubs went back in front, 4-2, on Lee's two-run blast to left, scoring Kosuke Fukudome, who had singled.

Harden pitched a scoreless bottom of the fifth, and Tom Gorzelanny followed by blanking New York in the sixth.

Former Met Aaron Heilman, though, couldn't keep his old teammates off the scoreboard in the seventh. Fernando Tatis singled, moved to second on a wild pitch and third on an Angel Pagan single. Two batters later, David Wright lofted a sacrifice fly to center for a 4-3 game.

Lee had an immediate answer for Chicago, leading off the eighth with a solo shot to left off Elmer Dessens to restore the two-run cushion.

The Mets put two runners on base off John Grabow in the eighth, and Marmol walked the bases loaded with two outs before inducing a fly out from Angel Pagan to end the inning unscathed.

Marmol remained on the mound in the ninth and pitched a perfect inning to seal the win.

Sullivan opened the scoring in the second, blasting a one-out solo homer to right for an early Mets lead.

The Cubs moved out in front in the fourth, as Ramirez followed Lee's single with a two-run blast to left.

"Ramirez -- he hit a good pitch, I don't know he got his hands inside that pitch," Figueroa said. "Somehow he hit that ball with enough for it to get out. It didn't sound good off the bat. I felt like I made a good pitch, maybe not the location I wanted. I had to move on, stay focused and keep trying to get hitters out."

New York came right back and tied the game in the home fourth on Anderson Hernandez's RBI infield single.

The Cubs lead the season series, 3-2...Harden has allowed two or less earned runs in nine of his last 10 starts...Lee has 93 RBI on the season.