CHICAGO (Interstat) — Francisco Lindor homered to reach the 30-30 milestone for the second time and Brett Baty hit a three-run shot as the New York Mets built a big lead and held on to beat the Chicago Cubs 8-5 on Thursday night at Wrigley Field.

The Mets remained a game ahead of Cincinnati for the final National League wild card after the Reds beat Pittsburgh 2-1. New York improved to 82-77, while the Cubs fell to 89-70 after losing six of their last seven.

Lindor’s solo home run in the third inning, his 30th of the season, gave him at least 30 homers and 30 stolen bases for the second time in his career. It also extended the Mets’ early lead to 3-0 after they scored two runs in the first inning on a sacrifice fly from Mark Vientos and an RBI single from Brandon Nimmo.

New York broke the game open in the fourth against Cubs starter Shota Imanaga. After singles by Nimmo and Luis Torrens, Baty launched his 18th homer of the season to left field, pushing the Mets’ advantage to 6-0.

Imanaga (9-8) was charged with the loss after being tagged for a season-high eight runs on nine hits over 5 2/3 innings. The Mets added two more runs in the sixth on a two-run double by Tyrone Taylor, ending Imanaga’s night.

The Cubs’ offense, quiet for much of the game, came alive in the bottom of the sixth against Mets rookie Nolan McLean. After a walk to Ian Happ and a ground-rule double by Moisés Ballesteros, Seiya Suzuki connected for a three-run homer, his second of the game, to cut the deficit to 8-5. Suzuki also homered in the fourth inning, and Dansby Swanson hit a solo shot in the fifth.

McLean (5-1) earned the win despite a shaky outing, allowing five runs on five hits over 5 1/3 innings. He struck out 11 but also surrendered all three Chicago home runs.

The Mets’ bullpen sealed the victory, with Brooks Raley striking out the side in the seventh and Tyler Rogers pitching a scoreless eighth. Edwin Díaz worked around a leadoff single in the ninth, inducing a game-ending double play from Swanson to record his 28th save of the season.

The game, played in front of 38,465 fans, took 2 hours, 40 minutes. The total score of 13 surpassed the pregame over/under line of 7.5, though the Mets’ victory covered the spread as they were installed as 1.5-run favorites.

New York’s 10-hit attack was led by Baty, who went 2 for 4 with three RBIs, and Nimmo, who had three hits and scored three runs. Suzuki’s two-homer, four-RBI night paced the Cubs, who managed seven hits.

The Mets took two of three games in the series and will open a three-game set at Miami on Friday. The Cubs will welcome the St. Louis Cardinals to Wrigley Field for a three-game series starting Friday.