CHICAGO — Jonah Tong wasn’t the answer Wednesday night, only underscoring the risk of thrusting an unproven rookie into the pressure cooker of a pennant race.

But it’s not like the pitching-strapped Mets had any other choice but to roll with the 22-year-old Tong, who recorded all of six outs — an improvement on what the team received from sputtering David Peterson a night earlier.

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But this time the cavalry never arrived to get Tong off the hook, and the Mets got flattened in a 10-3 loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field that potentially muddled the race for the National League’s third wild card.

The Reds

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