CHICAGO (Interstat) — Francisco Alvarez hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the eighth inning, and the New York Mets erased a five-run deficit to beat the Chicago Cubs 9-7 on Tuesday night in a pivotal late-season matchup at Wrigley Field.

The victory, the largest comeback win of the season for the Mets, pushed them a game ahead of the Cincinnati Reds for the third National League wild card after the Reds lost to Pittsburgh. New York improved to 81-76, while the Cubs fell to 88-69.

Alvarez delivered the decisive blow with two outs against reliever Caleb Thielbar (3-4), driving a pitch to center field to score Brett Baty, who had led off the inning with a single. The homer gave the Mets a 9-7 lead and capped a back-and-forth contest that lasted 2 hours, 57 minutes before an announced crowd of 35,729.

The game began with a solo shot from Francisco Lindor, his 29th of the year, on the first pitch from Cubs starter Cade Horton. However, the Cubs responded quickly in the bottom of the first. After a single by Nico Hoerner and a stolen base, Carlos Santana doubled off Mets starter David Peterson to drive in two runs and tie the game.

Chicago extended its lead in the second inning. A single by Hoerner scored Justin Turner, and Ian Happ followed with a two-run double to make it 5-1. The Cubs added another run in the fourth on a fielding error by Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil, allowing Hoerner to score for a 6-1 advantage.

The Mets’ offense erupted in the fifth inning to tie the game. A groundout by Lindor brought home Starling Marte, and a single by Pete Alonso scored Alvarez. Brandon Nimmo then connected for a three-run homer, his 25th of the season, to knot the score at 6-6.

New York briefly took the lead in the sixth when Lindor singled off Drew Pomeranz to drive in McNeil, but the Cubs answered in the bottom half of the inning. Seiya Suzuki singled off reliever Tyler Rogers to score Hoerner, tying the game at 7-7 and setting the stage for Alvarez’s late heroics.

Brooks Raley (3-0) earned the win with a third of an inning of relief. Edwin Díaz sealed the victory with his 27th save, striking out the side in a perfect ninth inning. Díaz was dominant, pitching two perfect innings with five strikeouts.

Nimmo and Lindor each finished with two hits, a home run and three RBIs for the Mets, who tallied 11 hits. Hoerner led the Cubs with four hits and three runs scored, while Happ and Santana each drove in two runs. The Cubs finished with nine hits.

The teams are scheduled to continue their three-game series on Wednesday. The loss extended a difficult stretch for the Cubs, who have lost five of their last six games. The Mets have won two of their last three. The final score of 16 combined runs went well over the pregame over/under line of 7.5. The Cubs had been installed as 1.5-run favorites, and statistical models gave them a 56% chance to win, projecting a 5-4 victory.