Crow-Armstrong haunts Mets as Cubs complete season sweep with 4-3 win

NEW YORK (AP) — Pete Crow-Armstrong laced an RBI double in the 10th inning, powering the Chicago Cubs to a 4-3 victory Thursday night over the sinking New York Mets and a sweep of the four-game series.

The Cubs went 7-0 against the Mets, outscoring them 51-24.

The Mets suffered their sixth straight loss to fall a season-high 13 games under .500 — the furthest below .500 they’ve been since 2023.

Crow-Armstrong, a former first-round pick of the Mets who was sent to the Cubs in the Javier Baez deal in 2021, delivered the tiebreaking hit off Brooks Raley (2-3).

Michael Conforto, Alex Bregman and Ian Happ had RBI hits in the sixth, when the Cubs’ runs were unearned thanks to a pair of errors. Chicago’s final eight runs of the series were unearned.

Jacob Webb (2-2) worked around a walk in the ninth and Trent Thornton retired all three batters he faced in the 10th for his second career save.

Dansby Swanson, who had 15 RBIs in the first three games to tie the Cubs' franchise record for a series of any length, went 0 for 4.

Eric Wagaman and Jared Young homered for the Mets.

Matthew Boyd, pitching for the first time since injuring his left knee playing with his children on May 6, allowed eight baserunners — four hits and four walks — but struck out four in 4 2/3 scoreless innings.

Mets starter Freddy Peralta allowed three runs, all unearned, and whiffed five in 5 2/3 innings.

Cubs RHP Colin Rea (5-5, 4.99 ERA) was set to start Friday at Milwaulee against RHP Jacob Misiorowski (8-3, 1.45 ERA). Mets rookie RHP Zach Thornton (0-1, 8.31 ERA) will be recalled from Triple-A Syracuse on Friday to face Phillies RHP Zack Wheeler (7-1, 2.11 ERA).

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New York Mets first baseman Eric Wagaman (39) gestures after hitting a two-run home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Thursday, June 25, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong, right, watches his double during the 10th inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Thursday, June 25, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

New York Mets first baseman Mark Vientos (27) holds the baseball after an error during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Thursday, June 25, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Chicago Cubs left fielder Ian Happ, left, Pete Crow-Armstrong, center, and Matt Shaw (6) celebrate a win in the tenth inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Thursday, June 25, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Chicago Cubs' Alex Bregman (3) and Pete Crow-Armstrong, right, celebrate after a win in the 10th inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Thursday, June 25, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

The field for the elimination phase of the World Cup is beginning to take shape, with co-hosts the United States and Canada finding out their opponents in the next round.

The U.S. will face Bosnia-Herzegovina on July 1 in Santa Clara, California, getting to stay on the West Coast after competing in the Los Angeles area and Seattle during the group stage. The Americans had already clinched a spot in the knockout round before a 3-2 loss to Turkey on Thursday night in front of a raucous, celebrity-studded Southern California crowd at SoFi Stadium.

Canada will head to Los Angeles to face South Africa.

Other marquee matchups are set, including Morocco vs. the Netherlands and Japan vs. Brazil.

Several teams, including Argentina, Germany, Mexico, Switzerland and Ivory Coast, have advanced to the knockout round but still waiting to find out their opponents.

The round of 32 will be set on Saturday once the group-stage matches are done and the final standings of the 12 groups are known. The top two teams from each group, along with the eight best third-place finishers, advance to the win-or-go home round.

Here's how it's looking so far:

The Americans had their powerful momentum from two consecutive victories stalled in the loss to Turkey. But in the knockout round, they’ll face a Bosnia-Herzegovina team that is 62nd in the FIFA rankings — the lowest-ranked World Cup qualifier from Europe. Bosnia finished third in Group B with four points. U.S. star Christian Pulisic entered as a substitute in the second half against Turkey. He had not played since leaving an opening win over Paraguay at halftime with a calf injury. “We play every game like a knockout game,” said U.S. midfielder Sebastian Berhalter, who scored against Turkey. “You saw that in our intensity and the way we worked. For us, it’s keep doing what we’ve been doing.”

These nations have already made history. It'll be the first time both are in the knockout stage of the World Cup. Co-host Canada advanced as runner-up in Group B with four points — one win, one draw and one loss. South Africa was runner-up in Group A, also with four points, including a surprising win over South Korea.

Japan advanced as Group F runner-up with a hard fought 1-1 draw against Sweden and the Samurai Blue's reward is a knockout match against five-time World Cup champion Brazil. It'll be a full-circle moment for Japan, which welcomed Brazilian soccer legend Zico in 1991. He was brought in to professionalize the country's new domestic league and support Japan's successful bid to host the World Cup in 2002. Now, the Japanese have a chance to show how far they've come against a country that has set the standard.

The Netherlands won Group F after playing to a draw with Japan and outscoring Sweden and Tunisia by a combined 8-2. Morocco went unbeaten to finish second in Group C in pursuit of becoming the first African winner of the World Cup. Morocco reached the semifinals four years ago in Qatar.

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here.

Netherlands fans cheer before the World Cup Group F soccer match between Tunisia and the Netherlands in Kansas City, Mo., Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Curaçao's Sontje Hansen (12) and Curaçao's Jeremy Antonisse (11) embrace after the World Cup Group E soccer match between Curacao and Ivory Coast in Philadelphia, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Japan's Junya Ito (14) and Sweden's Ken Sema (13) battle for the ball during the World Cup Group F soccer match between Japan and Sweden in Arlington, Texas, near Dallas, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Sam Hodde)

Netherlands' Memphis Depay tries to reach the ball in front of the goal during the World Cup Group F soccer match between Tunisia and the Netherlands in Kansas City, Mo., Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

United States' Christian Pulisic walks off the field after a World Cup Group D soccer match against Turkey in Inglewood, Calif., near Los Angeles, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)