NEW YORK -- Thanks to a surprising comeback win Thursday night, the New York Mets snapped a four-game losing streak, but the result didnt change their approach as they try to work their way through an extended offensive drought.This is how we have to grind right now, Mets second baseman Neil Walker said late Thursday night following a 4-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Citi Field.The Mets will host the Cubs again Friday night in the second game of a four-game series.This was a very, very good game for us, especially on the offensive side, Walker said. We got to grind out at-bats, make the pitchers work, got ourselves some opportunities.Walker was credited with the game-tying RBI in the seventh inning Thursday, when Alejandro De Aza scored from third on Walkers chopper to second base. Javier Baez tried throwing out Brandon Nimmo at third, but his throw sailed past Kris Bryant, and Nimmo raced home with the winning run.The rally was keyed by De Aza, who worked an eight-pitch walk against Joel Peralta, and Nimmo, who ended a nine-pitch battle with a single off Peralta.We have to do this, day in and day out, to have some success until we get on a little bit of a roll, Walker said of the Mets, who scored just eight runs during their losing streak.The loss ended a three-game winning streak for the Cubs, who led 3-0 in the sixth inning.You never want to lose a game when you have the lead, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. All losses are pretty tough to swallow, especially the close ones.Still, the Mets (41-37) werent the only ones who left Thursday night feeling pretty good about themselves. Maddon was encouraged by how close the Cubs (51-27) came to tying the game in both the eighth and ninth innings.The Cubs had two on and two outs in the eighth, when pinch hitter Jason Heyward grounded out to end the threat. Chicago loaded the bases with one out in the ninth before Mets closer Jeurys Familia struck out Willson Contreras and induced Baez to pop out to first.It indicates the kind of tenacity our group has, and I love it, Maddon said. I actually love every second of it.The Mets are scheduled to send right-hander Jacob deGrom to the mound against Cubs right-hander Jason Hammel.DeGrom will be looking to earn his first win in two months. He is winless since April 30, a 10-start stretch in which he is 0-4 despite a 3.13 ERA. In his most recent start last Saturday, deGrom threw eight scoreless innings but didnt factor into the decision in the Mets 1-0, 11-inning win at Atlanta.Hammel is looking to snap a four-start winless streak, during which he has gone 0-3 with a 3.70 ERA as his overall ERA has risen to a season-high 2.58. He took the defeat in his most recent start Sunday, when he gave up two runs over six innings in the Cubs 6-1 loss to the Miami Marlins.Neither starting pitcher has beaten his Friday opponent. In three career starts against the Cubs, deGrom is 0-2 with a 6.46 ERA. Hammel is 0-3 with a 4.91 ERA in five career starts against the Mets. Cheap Adidas Ultra Boost China . Fellow centre Pavel Datsyuk remains out because of a concussion. Zetterberg has 11 goals and 19 assists for a team-high 30 points, and Datsyuk has a team-high 12 goals and 11 assists. Ultra Boost Sale . -- Ohio States Urban Meyer has never had any issue acclimating to the biggest stages in college football. http://www.ultraboostclearance.com/ultra-boost-parley-sale.html . On Tuesday, Ottawa placed forward Cory Conacher and defenceman Joe Corvo on waivers as trade rumours swirl around the Senators. Pure Boost Clearance . LOUIS -- Roman Polak was celebrating even before Alexander Steen scored the winning goal in Saturdays 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Ultra Boost Clearance . Here are his mid-season NBA awards. MVP: (KEVIN DURANT-Thunder) - Has been sensational this season and more importantly, the most consistent player in the league. Considering that his team has been without star guard Russell Westbrook and with the free agent departure of sharpshooter Kevin Martin, hes had to carry the majority of the load to not only keep his team afloat but more importantly, at an elite level. BATON ROUGE - Junior All-SEC striker Jorian Baucom converted two penalty kicks on either side of halftime and junior midfielder Zoe Higgins put the match out of reach with her first career goal late in the second half to lead the LSU Tigers to a 3-0 shutout of Ole Miss in their SEC home opener Friday night at the LSU Soccer Stadium.Baucom made it a perfect 4-for-4 from the penalty spot this season and finished the match with a team-leading six goals for the fall with conversions in the 30th and 70th minutes of play, while Higgins secured the points for the hosts with her first goal as an LSU Tiger when she headed home Marlena Cuturas corner kick in the 77th minute of the second half.The Tigers (5-4, 1-1 SEC) snapped a three game losing streak to the Rebels (4-5, 0-2) with their first win in the series since 2012 while taking a 10-9-4 advantage in 23 matches played between the two sides.Fridays win marked a return to winning ways for the Tigers as they picked up their fourth win in their last five outings in all competitions dating back to another 3-0 win at Indiana back on Sept. 2. They entered SEC play on the back of three-straight non-conference wins, including a 2-1 win at reigning Big East Champion Butler on Sept. 4 and a 1-0 win at Western Kentucky on Sept. 8.As weve been building early in the season, weve been confident that we have a good team. Weve just needed to find the right mix of players, get into the flow of the season and get a little familiar with each other. Weve had maybe five new kids in the lineup at any given time, said LSU head coach Brian Lee. Were starting to gel a little bit. I think tonight is the best weve competed and the best weve played.The home side seized the initiative at the half-hour mark when Baucom drew a penalty with an incisive cutback in the right side of the area where she was hauled down by freshman defender Madison Meador for the Rebels. Baucom sent goalkeeper the wrong way on the ensuing spot kick and finished calmly to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.Melissa Capocaccia was the victim of a lovely bit of individual skill from senior Summer Clarke midway through the second half as LSUs All-SEC striker skipped past the Rebel defender near the end-line before dropping to the turf under an awkward challenge in the left side of the area. Baucom was true from the spot for the second time as sshe again got the best of Merritt for her sixth goal of the season in the 77th minute.ddddddddddddBaucoms strike rate is impressive as she has now found the net six times in nine appearances this season. She remains LSUs active career scoring leader with 29 goals scored in 51 career appearances as a Tiger.Every time I step up to take a PK, I have a certain routine I like to do. I just pick a spot and try to place it as best I can. Theres not any certain way I like to go, Baucom explained. We definitely had something to prove tonight coming back for our SEC home opener. We just came in with a mindset that we had to be aggressive, get into every tackle, win headers, get stuck into tackles.The win means everything. I think we just need to take this momentum into Sunday, and just start thinking of it one game at a time. If we stay consistent with the way we played tonight, we can get a lot of wins.The match was beyond the Rebels reach in the 77th minute when freshman Jade Clarke won LSUs fourth and final corner kick of the night with her run down the left flank. Cutura picked out Higgins near the top of the six-yard box for a thumping header into the back of the net for her first goal of the season and a commanding 3-0 lead.It was exciting, I finally got one, Higgins said of scoring her first goal for the Tigers. Marlena does a great job of putting those corner kicks right in the danger zone. We feel like all we have to do is step out and get our head on it, and its probably going in. Thats all I really had to do. We came out strong and just put the game away like we hoped to in the second half. Its SEC play, so we know we have to buckle down.Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Caroline Brockmeier was steady once again in defense as she saved all four shots on target she faced from the Rebels in the 90 minutes for her fourth clean sheet of the season.The Tigers return to non-conference play on Sunday afternoon when they welcome Lamar to the LSU Soccer Stadium for a match that is set to kick off at 1 p.m. CT on the SEC Network+. They will head back on the road next week to face 10th-ranked South Carolina on Thursday at 6 p.m. CT before a trip to Vanderbilt next Sunday, Sept. 25, with kickoff set for 1 p.m. ' ' '