CHICAGO (Interstat) — A pinch-hit, three-run homer by Carson Kelly in the sixth inning broke a tie and propelled the Chicago Cubs to a 4-2 victory over the New York Mets on Saturday afternoon at a sun-drenched Wrigley Field.

The decisive swing came against Mets starter Freddy Peralta, who had largely contained the Cubs’ lineup until the fateful frame. With two outs and the game knotted at 1-1, Peralta issued a walk to Ian Happ. His command then faltered further against Seiya Suzuki, who worked another walk after a successful Mets challenge on a pitch location. That brought Kelly, batting for designated hitter Moisés Ballesteros, to the plate.

Kelly, facing a tiring Peralta, launched the first pitch he saw deep to left-center field, clearing the ivy-covered wall for a three-run shot that instantly transformed a pitchers’ duel into a 4-1 Cubs lead. The blast scored Happ and Suzuki ahead of him and ultimately decided the contest.

The Mets had struck first in the second inning when Mark Vientos led off with a solo home run to left-center off Cubs starter Jameson Taillon. Chicago answered immediately in the bottom half, as Happ crushed a solo homer of his own to center field, his sixth of the season, to level the score.

From there, Taillon and Peralta engaged in a tight battle. Taillon, the winning pitcher, delivered six strong innings, allowing just one run on five hits while striking out four. This performance marked a significant rebound from his previous outing, a six-earned-run effort against Pittsburgh.

Peralta, tagged with the loss, was effective until the sixth. He departed after Kelly’s homer, having surrendered three runs on three hits over 5 2/3 innings, with three strikeouts.

The Mets chipped away in the eighth against Cubs reliever Ben Brown. Bo Bichette and Francisco Lindor led off with singles. After a force out put runners at the corners, the Mets capitalized on a defensive miscue. With two outs, Francisco Alvarez hit a grounder to second baseman Nico Hoerner, whose throwing error allowed Bichette to score, cutting the deficit to 4-2. Alvarez was credited with reaching on the error, and the run was unearned.

New York could not muster further offense against the Chicago bullpen. Brown finished two innings of work, and left-hander Caleb Thielbar closed the door in the ninth for his first save of the season, striking out two in a perfect frame.

The Cubs managed only five hits but made them count, with both of their extra-base hits leaving the yard. The Mets out-hit Chicago 7-5 but went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and grounded into two double plays.

Luis Robert Jr. had two of the Mets’ seven hits, including a first-inning double. The Cubs’ Happ reached base three times via a homer and two walks.

The game, played before a crowd of 36,189, lasted 2 hours, 31 minutes. It improved the Cubs’ record to 11-9, while the struggling Mets fell to 7-14, having lost five straight and 12 of their last 15 games.

The most critical sequence of the game unfolded in the bottom of the sixth inning. With the score tied and two outs, Peralta lost his command, walking Happ and Suzuki. This set the stage for Kelly, who was called upon to pinch-hit. On Peralta’s very next pitch, Kelly connected for the game-changing three-run homer, a single swing that accounted for the final margin of victory and deflated a Mets team that had been locked in a tight contest until that moment.

The two teams conclude their three-game series on Sunday.