The Chicago Cubs once again proved that patience is key, as they erased a 3rd inning four-run deficit & rallied late to beat the New York Mets 9-6 in 10 innings at Shea Stadium on Wednesday evening.

The Mets are now fighting for their playoff lives with 4 games remaining, as their loss puts them in a tie with Milwaukee for the National League Wild Card lead.

Chicago was able to take an early lead in the top of the 2nd inning on Mark DeRosa’s lead-off solo homer down the leftfield line against New York starter Oliver Perez (21st of season), which gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead.

The Cubs then trlied to rally in the top of the 3rd inning after Alfonso Soriano drew a 1-out walk from Perez.

Ryan Theriot then singled, which put runners at 1st & 2nd with just 1 out for Derrek Lee.

2 batters later, Aramis Ramirez walked to load the bases with 2 outs for Mark DeRosa.

DeRosa then flied out to Carlos Beltran in centerfield, which ended the scoring threat.

The Mets then threatened to tie the game in the bottom of the 3rd inning after Argenis Reyes hit a 1-out single off Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano.

2 batters walked, Jose Reyes walked to put runners at 1st & 2nd with 2 outs for David Murphy.

Murphy then walked, which loaded the bases for David Wright.

Wright then forced in Reyes from 3rd base with his bases-loaded walk, which tied the game 1-1.

Carlos Delgado then cleared the bases with a grand-slam (38th of season), which gave New York a 5-1 lead.

The Cubs then tried to rally in the top of the 5th inning after Ryan Theriot hit a 1-out single off Perez.

Derrek Lee & Aramis Ramirez then drew back-to-back walks, which loaded the bases with just 1 out for Mark DeRosa.

DeRosa then hit a 2-run double, which scored Theriot & Lee which made it a 5-3 game.

Reed Johnson then hit an RBI single off Mets reliever Duaner Sanchez to score Ramirez from 3rd base & also scored pinch-runner Kosuke Fukudome from 2nd base after David Murphy misplayed the ball in left field.

Fukudome’s run tied the game 5-5.

2 batters later, Henry Blanco singled to put runners at 1st & 2nd with 2 outs for Carlos Zambrano.

Zambrano then grounded out to Argenis Reyes at 2nd base to end the inning.

New York then tried to rally & take the lead in the bottm of the 5th inning after pinch-hitter Marlon Anderson drew a lead-off walk against Zambrano.

2 batters later, David Wright singled to put runners at 1st & 3rd with 2 outs for Carlos Delgado.

Delgado then flied out to Alfonso Soriano in left field to end the scoring threat.

The Cubs then had a chance to take the lead in the top of the 6th inning after Derrek Lee drew a 2-out walk from Mets reliever Joe Smith.

Aramis Ramirez then singled, which put runners at 1st & 2nd with 2 outs for Kosuke Fukudome.

Fukudome then flied out to Jose Reyes in shallow left field, which ended the scoring threat.

The Mets then had a chance to take the lead in the bottom of the 6th inning after Carlos Beltran drew a lead-off walk from Cubs reliever Neal Cotts.

Beltran was then able to steal 2nd base during Ryan Church’s at-bat, who struck out swinging.

With Beltran at 2nd base & just 1 out,  Nick Evans struck out.

Beltran then stole 3rd base during Argenio Reyes’ at-bat, who struck out to end the scoring threat.

Chicago then rallied in the top of the 7th inning to take the lead after Reed Johnson hit a lead-off single against New York reliever Brian Stokes.

2 batters later, pinch-hitter Micah Hoffpauir reached safely on a trapped ball from a diving Ryan Church in rightfield, which put runners at 1st & 2nd with just 1 out for pinch-hitter Daryle Ward.

Ward then flied out to Jose Reyes in shallow left field before Alfonso Soriano hit an RBI double to score Johnson from 2nd base & give the Cubs a 6-5 lead.

The Mets then threatened to tie the game in the bottom of the 7th inning after Ramon Martinez hit a lead-off double against Cubs reliever Kevin Hart.

Jose Reyes then reached 1st base safely on a bunt single after Ronny Cedeno dropped Koyie Hill’s throw.

David Murphy then hit a screaming liner to Derrek Lee at 1st base, who stepped on the bag to double-up Jose Reyes for the doubleplay.

WIth 2 outs & Martinez on 3rd base, David Wright flied out to Alfonso Soriano in left field to end the scoring threat.

New York once again threatened to tie the game in the bottom of the 8th inning after Carlos Delgado hit a lead-off double against Chicago reliever Jeff Samardzija.

Carlos Beltran then singled to put runners at 1st & 3rd with nobody out for Ryan Church.

Church then struck out before Beltran stole 2nd during Ramon Castro’s at-bat, who grounded out to Aramis Ramirez at 3rd base.

Raul Chavez was then intentionally walked, which loaded the bases with 2 outs for Ramon Martinez.

Martinez then drew a bases-loaded walk, which forced in Delgado from 3rd base & tied the game 6-6.

Reyes then grounded out to Ronny Cedeno at 2nd base to end the inning.

New York then threatned to win the game in the bottom of the 9th inning, which got started with a lead-off triple by David Murphy off Chicago reliever Bob Howry.

After David Wright struck out, Carlos Beltran & Carlos Delgado were then intentionally walked, which loaded the bases with just 1 out for Ryan Church.

Church then grounded into a fielder’s choice for the 2nd out, which left it up to Ramon Castro.

Castro then struck out to leave the bases-loaded & force extra innings.

The Cubs then put together a game-winning rally in the top of the 10th inning after Ryan Theriot hit a 2-out single against Mets reliever Luis Ayala.

Theriot then stole 2nd base during Derrek Lee’s at-bat, who hit a bloop RBI double down the right field line, scoring Theriot from 2nd & gave Chicago a 7-6 lead.

Aramis Ramirez then added extra insurance with a 2-run homer (27th of season), which gave the Cubs a 9-6 lead.

Kerry Wood then pitched a perfect 10th inning to end the game & get the Cubs their 96th win for the season.

Bob Howry (7-4) gets the win for the Cubs after escaping a 1-out, bases-loaded jam in the 9th inning which included 2 huge strikeouts against David Wright & Ramon Castro.

Luis Ayala (2-10) takes the loss for the Mets after allowing Derrek Lee’s game-winning RBI double & Aramis Ramirez’s 2-run homer during the 10th inning.

Kerry Wood pitched a scoreless 10th inning & struck out one for his 34th save of the season.

The Cubs have now won 4 out of 5 games against the Mets this season & can win the series tomorrow evening at 6:10 PM cst from Shea Stadium, as righthander Rich Harden (5-1, 1.66 in 11 starts as a Cub) will be opposed by Mets righthander Pedro Martinez (5-6, 5.50).

The Cubs have won each of Harden’s last 8 starts, while Harden has allowed just 3 runs in 18 innings over his last 3 road starts.

The Mets have lost each of Martinez’s last 3 starts, while Pedro will be seeking his 1st home win on Thursday since June 15th against Texas.

Martinez is 0-3 in 3 starts this month with a 7.88 ERA.

Cubs’ 2nd baseman Mark DeRosa left the game in the 5th inning with a strained calf injury & is day-to-day.

Signing off for now,