Maybe it was the strong Chicago wind, but the Mets struggled hitting and catching the ball at Wrigley Field on Monday night, making three errors in one inning in a 6-1 loss to the last place Cubs.

While the Windy City made Terry Collins' club look foolish, Joe Mather was able to line a Johan Santana fastball through the stiff wind for a two-run homer that put Chicago ahead 2-0 in the fourth. It was the only damage against Santana (5-4), who allowed five hits while striking out six in six innings.

Pinch hitter Adrian Cardenas led off the seventh with a towering pop-up that David Wright misjudged as it twisted in the wind. It landed a few feet in front of home, but bounced into foul ground away from Wright and cather Mike Nickeas. By the time the Mets got a handle on the ball, Cardenas had hustled all the way to third.

Two batters later, Darwin Barney hit a shallow fly ball to right field that bounced off the chest of a sliding Lucas Duda for another three-base error. Starlin Castro followed with a hard-hit grounder toward second base that skipped off the glove of Ronny Cedeno and through the Mets' drawn-in infield.

The three errors pushed the Mets total to 58 for the season, second worst in the National League only to the San Francisco Giants. And Monday's four unearned runs ties the Mets and Giants for the most allowed on the road by ant MLB team this year (25).

Travis Wood (2-3) K'd six through seven inning of five-hit ball.

Ike Davis hit his ninth homer run, a solo shot in the ninth to account for the Mets' lone run.

Ronny Cedeno and Nickeas each had a double and single, while David Wright had a base knock to extend his hit streak to 15-games.

The Cubs moved to 25-48, while the Mets dropped their third straight to fall to 39-35.

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