NEW YORK – Cubs rookie catcher Willson Contreras took a direct hit to the cup from a foul tip Wednesday in Cincinnati, his agony obvious as he leaped to his feet and tried to walk/hop it off all the way onto the infield grass.
But that was nothing compared to the four-game swift kick the Cubs got from the Mets last October that ended their magical run to the playoffs in the National League Championship Series.
“We remember what happened last year,” pitcher Kyle Hendricks said as the Cubs headed to New York to face the Mets for the first time since that painful playoff sweep.
And, as with Contreras on Wednesday, the cure for the pain seems to be the same thing:
“I was thinking, `Stay on my feet and don’t lay on the ground,’ “ Contreras said. “That’s how the pain goes away.”
The Cubs certainly have done that much since the Mets’ powerful pitching – and since-departed second baseman Daniel Murphy’s power hitting – dominated them in October.
They take the best record in baseball into the showdown that starts Thursday night at 6:10, fresh off a three-game sweep of the Reds in Cincinnati.
The Mets, on the other hand, could be coming apart at the seams as the season nears the midway mark.
They’ve lost four straight games — 11 of 17 — and have fallen behind the Marlins to third place in the NL East.
Their low-scoring lineup is without injured regulars David Wright (neck surgery; out for season) and center fielder Juan Lagares (thumb; on injury rehab assignment). Before James Loney homered in the ninth Wednesday in Washington, they’d gone 23 innings without a run.
And their flame-throwing young pitching rotation is awash in bone-spur uncertainty: Left-hander Steven Matz had his regularly scheduled start pushed back a day because of the issue, to open the series tonight; and ace Noah Syndergaard called his bone spur “insignificant” ahead of Sunday’s start in the finale.
Their most reliable starter right now is the unlikely Bartolo Colon, 43, who’s 6-4 with a 2.86 ERA as he takes the mound against Jake Arrieta on Saturday.
“Our team’s different also because we’re missing a lot of our guys,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said.
Leadoff hitter Dexter Fowler (hamstring) has been the biggest recent injury loss. In fact, all three starting outfielders from that series in October – also Kyle Schwarber and Jorge Soler – are on the DL.
But the Cubs also bring a different, deeper look to their rotation with the addition of John Lackey (7-4, 3.29), who starts Thursday, and the resurgence this year of Jason Hammel (7-4, 2.58), who starts Friday.
“We’ll be going in there with a different look entirely than we had last year at this same time,” said Maddon, whose lineup also includes All-Star additions in Jason Heyward and Ben Zobrist.
“[This series] is really not a true indicator of what it’s going to look like at the end of the year,” Maddon said. “What does it mean? It just means we’re playing the Mets four games in New York right now. Last year is last year, man. They beat us. they pitched really well. We had a great season, all of the above.
“But right now I know they’re struggling a bit. Even when they’re banged-up they’re good,” he added.
“Last year we had them during the season [Cubs won season series 7-0], and they kicked our butt in the postseason. I don’t take anything for granted. And I don’t really like trying to connect all those different dots.”
But, as Hendricks said, they do remember.
“We definitely want to go in there with a little chip on [our shoulders] and get some wins,” he said, “especially in their ballpark.”