Can't stand the heat
First the Cubs said goodbye to their Big Z. A few innings later, their chance to pick up a Big W also slipped away.
Several hours later, the Cubs' two-day stay on top of the National League Central came to an end.
A dehydrated Zambrano left in the sixth inning with heat-related cramps. The Cubs rallied without their ace, overcoming 1-0 and 2-1 deficits, but the Mets tagged Ryan Dempster for 4 runs in the ninth to win 6-2 in front of 41,512 at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs (57-51) lost their second straight after reaching a season-high 8 games over .500 -- and first place -- by beating Philadelphia on Wednesday night. They fell a game behind Milwaukee in the NL Central.
The Cubs also dropped to 2-3 on a homestand that gives them a chance to compete with two of the National League's better teams. They fell to 1-4 against the Mets (62-47) this year.
Wanting to see how they measure up against the league's best, the Cubs will now need to beat John Maine, New York's winningest pitcher, and deny Tom Glavine his 300th career win to avoid a losing homestand.
"You like to see where you stand," said first baseman Derrek Lee, who hit his 12th home run. "These are the best teams. If you make the playoffs, you are going to have to face them, so you want to match up well against teams like the Mets and the Phillies."
Zambrano's matchup with Orlando Hernandez (7-4, 3.00 ERA) was as advertised for 5 scoreless innings. Zambrano labored, walking seven, but he also was his usual emotional self, jumping off the mound after striking out Marlon Anderson to leave the bases loaded in the fifth.
His day didn't last much longer. The NL leader with 14 wins said he doesn't "drink much water, but I have to change."
That contributed to his dehydration, which led to his right forearm and triceps cramping.
"I don't think this will affect me in my next start," Zambrano said.
Manager Lou Piniella watched Zambrano warm up to start the sixth and could tell he wasn't the same. Ramon Castro homered, and Piniella pulled Zambrano with a 1-1 count on the next hitter, Shawn Green.
"It was obvious he wasn't throwing the ball," Piniella said. "There's no sense taking a chance with Carlos or any of our pitchers."
The ex-White Sox factor isn't doing the Cubs any favors this week. Aaron Rowand homered twice, and Tadahito Iguchi had 1 during the Phillies series. On Friday, it was Hernandez's turn.
El Duque kept the Cubs off balance for most of his 6ˆ¿ innings, striking out nine, many with changeups clocked in the 60- and 70-mph range. He threw an eephus pitch for a called strike to Cliff Floyd.
Jason Kendall denied Hernandez the win with a two-out, RBI double off the left-field wall in the seventh, tying the game at 2-2.
"He's always been good," Kendall said. "He throws from different angles. He kind of gets you when you are sitting on soft and he throws 88, 90 on the black."
The Cubs had a chance to go ahead in the eighth. Lee singled, stole second and went to third Castro's throwing error. Aramis Ramirez flied out to end the threat.
The Mets put the game away in the ninth and forced the Cubs to try to win the series the tough way -- without a victory from their ace and with a tired bullpen.
"We need every game and I wanted to pitch 7, 8 innings," Zambrano said. "I tried to convince him (Piniella, to stay in the game), but he's a smart guy. It's good nothing major happened."
Mets 6, Cubs 2
At the plate: Ryan Theriot's 27-game on-base streak ended, with Mets outfielder David Newhan catching Theriot's bullet deep in left in the eighth inning. Derrek Lee hit his sixth home run in the last 13 games.
On the mound: Carlos Zambrano tied a career high with 7 walks while lasting just 5 innings. He threw just 49 of 93 pitches for strikes. The Mets had only 2 hits off him, but one was Ramon Castro's home run. Ryan Dempster's struggles against the Mets continued. He allowed 5 hits and 4 runs in the ninth.
-- John Lemon