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Defensive miscues allow Cubs to rout Mets

May 25, 2011 - 6:04 AM Chicago, IL (Sports Network) - Ryan Dempster pitched seven strong innings and the Cubs capitalized on some shoddy New York fielding to pound the Mets, 11-1, at Wrigley Field.

Starlin Castro had three hits and drove in two for the Cubs, who also got a pair of RBI from Darwin Barney and Carlos Zambrano.

Dempster (3-4) allowed seven hits and fanned five to move his career mark to 10-5 against the Mets.

New York faltered in the opener of this three-game series by allowing five unearned runs. Jon Niese (3-5) yielded seven hits and six runs, but just two earned, over five frames.

"They put good swings on pitches. I don't think they hit me too hard, but obviously they hit them in the right spots," Niese said.

The Mets lost their third in a row and have surrendered 27 runs in that span.

Lou Montanez, in his first game with the Cubs, doubled to right field to score Aramis Ramirez to start a five-run second inning. Mets catcher Ronny Paulino then committed the first of his two errors on the night when the ball popped out of his glove on a throw home from first baseman Daniel Murphy. That came off a ground ball from Koyie Hill.

Following Dempster's sacrifice bunt and a Reed Johnson walk, Barney singled in Montanez to keep the bases full. Castro then singled in two more runs to cap the outburst.

A Jose Reyes infield single scored Ruben Tejada in the top of the fifth, but Castro's RBI triple down to the right field corner in the bottom half made it 6-1.

The Cubs caught a break in the sixth. Johnson struck out with runners at first and second, but Paulino's snap throw to first to try for a double play sailed down the right field line. That allowed Hill to come home.

Chicago tacked on four runs in the seventh to account for the 10-run margin. Pat Misch walked Hill with the bases full. Zambrano, serving as a pinch- hitter, then broke his bat on a single up the middle, off the glove of second baseman Tejada to score two more. Johnson's single to left made it 11-1. Mets left fielder Fernando Martinez booted the ball, but the Cubs left two runners in scoring position when Barney struck out.

"If we continue to have good at-bats, we're going to give ourselves a good chance to win the game. Today we were able to go some good things," Johnson said.

Game Notes

Montanez, who was the third overall pick of the 2000 draft by the Cubs, had spent the first three years (2008-10) of his major league career with Baltimore after being signed as a free agent in 2006. He was inked as a free agent by the Cubs this January...Earlier Tuesday, the Cubs placed pitcher Matt Garza on the 15-day disabled list with a right elbow bone contusion. To fill the roster spot, the Cubs selected the contract of Montanez from Triple-A Iowa. The team also transferred pitcher Brian Schiltter to the 60-day disabled list to make room on the 40-man roster for Montanez...Mets left field Jason Bay left the game in the seventh inning with a stiff right calf...The Cubs are 11-1 in their last 12 games against NL East opponents dating to August 23, 2010.