Cubs return home to face struggling Mets

The Cubs could not be returning home to a more favorable forecast this weekend. Temperatures are climbing, and the Mets, playing so miserably that Mr. Met has asked for a trial separation, blow into town.

The Mets have lost eight straight, including a three-game sweep in Los Angeles that ended Wednesday night with Shohei Ohtani, appearing exclusively as a pitcher, toying with them through six innings, holding them to a run on two hits while striking out 10.

Ohtani didn’t bring his bat to the game. No need for him to hit when the Mets aren’t.

In seven of those eight losses, the Mets have scored two runs or fewer. They’ve scored thee runs in their last 38 innings. Their biggest bauble, Juan Soto, has missed the last 11 games with a strained calf and isn’t expected back until next week at the earliest. Fellow superstar Francisco Lindor is batting .184. Their biggest offseason prize, Bo Bichette, is batting .228. And former White Sox disappointment Luis Robert Jr. is hitless in his last 14 at-bats.

“Guys have got to start playing better,’’ manager Carlos Mendoza, well aware of who will take the fall if they don’t, told reporters after Wednesday’s game. “It’s as simple as that. They’re too talented. But right now, we’re not seeing anything on the field.’’

Mets pitching hasn’t been much better. A yield of eight runs to the Dodgers Wednesday made it 44 earned runs in their 69 innings during the streak, a 5.74 ERA. Their erstwhile Japanese ace, Kodai Senga, who pitched so poorly at the end of last season that he was replaced in the rotation and sent to Triple-A, takes an 0-2 record and 7.07 ERA into Friday afternoon’s matchup against the Cubs, offering scant evidence that he has figured things out.

Former Brewers ace Freddy Peralta, 9-3 lifetime against the Cubs with a 3.21 ERA, will offer a test Saturday, but the weekend wraps up with the Mets scheduled to send lefty David Peterson (0-3, 6.41 ERA) to the hill.

Meanwhile, the Cubs arrive back home triumphantly after taking two of three from the Phillies, Philadelphia proving to be just the restorative the Cubs’ offense needed.

Signs of stirring began with the wind blowing out in Wrigley on Sunday, when the Cubs scored seven runs in a come-from-behind win over the Pirates. Twenty-eight runs, 41 hits, 13 walks and four home runs followed in summer-like conditions in Citizens Bank Park, a refreshing change from the freezer burn the Cubs have been coping with the first couple of weeks of the season.

Nico Hoerner, so hot he could hit in Antarctica, kept swinging it in Philly, including a 5-RBI game in the series finale. In the last four games, including Sunday against the Pirates, Hoerner is 7 for his last 19.

But Hoerner now has backup. Dansby Swanson has homered three times in that stretch and is hitting .385. Moises Ballesteros is 5 for his last 7, Alex Bregman 6 for his last 16, Carson Kelly 5 for his last 11.

How do you explain it? Is Fahrenheit the one metric that explains it?

“There’s a multitude of factors,’’ Swanson said in a recent conversation about the subpar showing by many hitters, not only here but around the circuit. “I think April in certain parts of the country are just weather dependent. It makes thing more difficult, whether it’s cold here, the wind’s blowing in here, and we’ve also been in Cleveland, where it was really cold.

“I would say also that every year, we as a sport evolve, and typically pitching is ahead of hitting. The nature of pitching is proactive and hitting is reactive.

“I also think you’re seeing a higher value being placed on defense. For a while, the game was slug, slug, slug and you tried to build your team around that, especially when there was shifting and you could put your players where they didn’t necessarily have to have range.’’

The Cubs rank as one of the best examples of a team that places a premium on defense.

“So I think, even if you hit the ball hard,’’ Swanson said, “it gets caught. There are a lot of good defenders out there, and a lot of good data points suggesting where they should play. The combination of those factors can limit hitting.’’

The key, Swanson said, is “staying committed to what you believe in, no matter whether the results come or not. It’s a funny game we play, isn't it? It’s different than any other sport.’’