Jason Marquis’ career-high 5 RBI’s helped the Chicago Cubs to a 9-5 win over the New York Mets on Monday evening from Shea Stadium.

The Cubs’ 95th win helped them earn the National League’s best record & secure homefield advantage throughout the first two rounds of the postseason.

The Cubs took an early lead in the top of the 2nd inning after Mark DeRosa hit a 2-out double off Mets starter Jonathon Niese.

Reed Johnson then hit an RBI single to score DeRosa from 2nd base & give Chicago a 1-0 lead.

Ryan Theriot then walked to put runners at 1st & 2nd with 2 outs for Jason Marquis.

Marquis then grounded out to Luis Castillo at 2nd base to end the inning.

The Mets got even in the bottom of the 2nd inning after Carlos Delgado drew a lead-off walk from Cubs starter Jason Marquis.

2 batters later, Ryan Church singled to put runners at 1st & 3rd with just 1 out.

Carlos Delgado was then able to score from 3rd base during a wild pitch by Marquis, which tied the game 1-1 & advanced Castillo to 2nd base on the play.

Brian Schneider then struck out with Castillo on 2nd base to end the inning.

The Mets then threatened to take the lead in the bottom of the 3rd inning after Jose Reyes hit a 1-out double off Marquis.

Daniel Murphy then hit an RBI double to score Reyes from 2nd base & give New York a 2-1 lead.

David Wright then grounded out to Aramis Ramirez at 3rd base before Carlos Delgado was intentionally walked to put runners at 1st & 2nd with 2 outs for Carlos Beltran.

Beltran then struck out looking to end the inning.

The Cubs then put together a rally in the top of the 4th inning after Geovany Soto hit a lead-off double down the leftfield line off Niese.

Mark DeRosa then singled, which put runners at 1st & 3rd with nobody out for Reed Johnson.

Reed Johnson then hit an RBI single, which scored Soto from 3rd base & tied the game 2-2.

Ryan Theriot then singled, which loaded the bases with nobody out for Jason Marquis.

Marquis then belted a grand slam (1st of season) off Niese to deep right field, which gave Chicago a 6-2 lead.

It’s the first career grand slam for Marquis, which happened to come in his hometown state.  Marquis is from Manhasset, New York & resides in Staten Island during the off-season.

Marquis also becomes the 1st Cub pitcher to hit a grand slam since Kevin Tapani did it off the Braves’ Denny Neagle on July 14th, 1998.

2 batters later, Derrek Lee hit a 2-out solo homer (2oth of season) off Mets reliever Nelson Figueroa to give the Cubs a 7-2 lead.

Aramis Ramirez then doubled to put a runner at 2nd with 2 outs for Geovany Soto.

Soto then struck out looking to end the inning.

The Mets then tried to put together a rally in the bottom of the 4th inning after Ryan Church reached 1st base safely on a bunt single.

Luis Castillo then drew a walk to put runners at 1st & 2nd with nobody out for Brian Schneider.

Schneider then hit into a doubleplay, but advanced Church to 3rd base with 2 outs for pinch-hitter Nick Evans.

Evans then flied out to Alfonso Soriano in leftfield to end the scoring threat.

The Cubs struck for another rally in the top of the 5th inning after Mark DeRosa hit a lead-off single against Mets reliever Bobby Parnell.

2 batters later, Ryan Theriot singled to put runners at 1st & 3rd with just 1 out for Jason Marquis.

Marquis then reached 1st base safely on a fielder’s choice to score Pie from 3rd base & give Chicago an 8-2 lead.

The Cubs did receive a scare as Pie hit a foul ball off his chin during his 5th inning at-bat, but stayed in the game & even got a hug from skipper Lou Piniella.

The Mets then tried to rally in the bottom of the 6th inning after Carlos Beltran hit a lead-off single against Marquis, which was followed by a Ryan Church walk to put runners at 1st & 2nd with nobody out for Luis Castillo.

Castillo then hit into a doubleplay, which advanced Beltran to 3rd base with 2 outs for Brian Schneider, who grounded out to Marquis which ended the scoring threat.

The Mets then added 2 runs in the bottom of the 7th inning after Jose Reyes hit an infield 1-out single off Marquis.

2 batters later, David Wright belted a 2-run homer (33rd of season) that just got out of the reach of a leaping Alfonso Soriano in deep left field to make it an 8-4 Cub lead.

Carlos Delgado & Carlos Beltran then hit back-to-back 2-out singles off Cubs reliever Neal Cotts before Ryan Church popped up to Ryan Theriot at shortstop to end the inning.

Chicago then tried to add onto their lead in the top of the 9th inning after Aramis Ramirez hit a 1-out double off New York reliever Luis Ayala.

Koyie Hill then grounded out to Carlos Delgado at 1st base, which advanced Ramirez to 3rd with 2 outs for pinch-hitter Daryle Ward.

Ward then drew a walk before Felix Pie’s RBI single scored Ramirez from 3rd base & gave the Cubs a 9-4 lead.

Ryan Theriot then singled, which loaded the bases with 2 outs for Kosuke Fukudome, who faced Mets reliever Ricardo Rincon.

Fukudome then popped up to David Wright at 3rd base to end the inning.

The Mets then tried to put together a final rally in the bottom of the 9th inning after David Wright drew a 1-out walk & Carlos Delgado singled against Cubs setup man Carlos Marmol, which put runners at 1st & 3rd with just 1 out for Carlos Beltran.

Beltran then grounded out to Derrek Lee at 1st base, but drove in Wright from 3rd base to make it a 9-5 Cub lead.

Ryan Church then drew a walk, which put runners at 1st & 3rd with 2 outs for Luis Castillo.

Cubs closer Kerry Wood then entered the game from the bullpen & struck out Luis Castillo looking to end the game & help Chicago lock up homefield advantage throughout the National League postseason.

Jason Marquis (11-9) gets the win for the Cubs after pitching 6 2/3 innings & allowed 4 runs on 8 hits.

Jonathon Niese (1-1) takes his 1st big-league loss for the Mets after allowing 6 runs on 7 hits in just 3 innings of work.

Kerry Wood retired the only batter he faced in the 9th inning to pick up his 33rd save of the season.

With the loss, the Mets trail the Phillies by 2.5 games in the NL East, but lead the Brewers by 1 game for the Wild Card lead entering Tuesday’s action.

Game 2 at 6:10 PM cst on Tuesday will feature a pair of southpaws, as the Cubs’ Sean Marshall (3-4, 3.62) will square off against Mets ace Johan Santana (14-7, 2.65).

Marshall will be making his 1st start since September 7th against Cincinnati, when he pitched 6 innings & allowed just 1 run on 3 hits during the Cubs’ 4-3 loss.

Overall, the Cubs have gone 1-5 in games started by Marshall this season.

The Mets have won 8 of Santana’s last 9 starts, dating back to August 7th against San Diego.

Santana has been perfect in the 2nd half, as he holds a 6-0 record in 13 post All-Star Game break starts with a 2.38 ERA & has not lost since June 28th to the Yankees.

Santana is 1-1 in 4 career starts against the Cubs with a 1.38 ERA.

Signing off for now,