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Cubs aim to reverse fortunes vs. Mets

Jun 30, 2015 - 1:20 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Chicago Cubs hope to turn their fortunes around, but to do so they'll have to cool down the surging New York Mets on Tuesday when the teams begin a three-game set at Citi Field.

Chicago is in the midst of a season-worst, five-game skid and has scored only six runs in that time. The offense went 2-for-27 with runners in scoring position during this weekend's three-game series with St. Louis, including an 0-for-10 effort in Sunday's 4-1 loss.

"We have to get back our offensive mojo," manager Joe Maddon said. "You have a young, inexperienced group offensively, and they're being schooled right now a little bit.

"Eventually, it's going to come back to us and we'll benefit from it."

New York has won four in a row while giving up just four runs during the win streak. Steven Matz was in command against Cincinnati in Sunday's 7-2 victory, as he gave up just two runs over 7 2/3 innings in his big league debut. He also helped himself with a big day at the plate by going 3-for-3 with four RBI.

The Mets have won six straight at Citi Field, and their 29-11 record there trails only St. Louis (29-7) for the best home mark in baseball.

New York will welcome Daniel Murphy back to the lineup on Tuesday after being on the disabled list since June 4 with a strained left quadriceps. Murphy, batting a team-best .283, will start at third base, with Ruben Tejada shifting to shortstop and Wilmer Flores to second.

Toeing the rubber for New York on Friday is veteran Jon Niese, who has gone eight straight starts without a win dating back to May 9, the longest winless stretch of his career. However, the southpaw has put together four quality starts in a row and held Milwaukee to two runs over six innings last Tuesday despite taking a line drive off his leg.

Niese is 3-5 with a 5.23 ERA across nine career starts versus the Cubs.

Kyle Hendricks gets the call for Chicago. The right-hander was tagged for four runs on four hits against the Dodgers last time out, as he was done in by a pair of homers. It marked the fourth straight start that Hendricks lasted exactly five innings.

"My last two starts I've given my team zero chance to win, which is pathetic, really," he said. "I have to do something different."

Hendricks was 7-2 with a 2.46 ERA across 13 starts as a rookie in 2014 but has already given up almost twice the amount of runs in nearly the same amount of innings in 2015.

The Cubs have won nine of the last 11 head-to-head meetings and swept a four- game set when these teams met up at Wrigley Field in May. Chicago's Kris Bryant was 6-for-14 with two homers in that series. Both teams were idle on Monday.