DEJA VU
MLB: Mets waste 4-run lead, fall to Cubs 9-6 in 10
By RONALD BLUM
AP Baseball Writer
NEW YORK— With another brutal loss, the New York Mets kept tumbling toward another September collapse.
Derrek Lee blooped a go-ahead double in the 10th inning off Luis Ayala, Aramis Ramirez followed with a two-run homer and the Chicago Cubs rallied from a four-run deficit to defeat the Mets 9-6 today.
New York, which wasted Carlos Delgado's third-inning grand slam off Carlos Zambrano and a 5-1 lead, dropped into a tie with Milwaukee for the NL wild-card lead and remained 1 1/2 games behind NL East-leading Philadelphia. The Mets, who have four games remaining, failed to win after taking a four-run lead for the eighth time this season.