Alvarez homered twice, including a go-ahead shot, but the Mets couldn’t sustain the rally as Cubs surged late in a 10-3 defeat. Tong failed to settle in his fifth big-league start, and New York’s bullpen was pressed into extensive work, flipping to tandem starts with Holmes and Manaea. Defensive miscues and a wild-pitch onslaught widened Chicago’s lead. Cincinnati’s loss in extras kept the Mets in the wild-card mix, though depth and weekend stress loom.