Mets complete sweep of Cubs
Murphy sets mark with 6th HR
Daniel Murphy homered in his record sixth straight postseason game and the New York Mets reached the World Series for the first time in 15 years, beating the Chicago Cubs 8-3 Wednesday night for a playoff sweep.
Manager Terry Collins’ team never trailed for a single inning in taking all four games in the NL Championship Series.
New York, seeking its first title since 1986, will play Game 1 of the World Series at either Kansas City or Toronto on Tuesday night. The Royals lead the AL Championship Series 3-2.
Murphy broke the postseason mark set by Houston’s Carlos Beltran in 2004 with a two-run drive in the eighth inning.
Lucas Duda homered and drove in five runs. Travis d’Arnaud also connected as the Mets advanced to their first World Series since 2000.
Kris Bryant homered for Chicago, but a championship drought dating to 1908 continues. Joe Maddon’s young team had many believing this might be the year, but the Cubs did little against the Mets’ fresh aces.
Murphy won NL Championship Series MVP after homering for a postseasonrecord sixth straight game.
A contact hitter known for inconsistent fielding and occasional lapses on base, Murphy has been the driving force in the Mets’ push for their first pennant in 15 years.
Murphy set the record with his latest blast in the eighth inning. He added a double and two singles and has hit safely in each of the Mets’ nine postseason games.
New York, meanwhile, advanced to the World Series for the first time since a bitter Subway Series loss to the Yankees in 2000.
That Mets’ drought, of course, is nothing compared to that of the Cubs, who haven’t won it all since 1908 and won’t this year because of Murphy.
Sure, the Mets’ aces pitched in. The Cubs’ big bats failed to produce big results against starters Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz.
But Murphy’s Babe Ruth impersonation has fueled the Mets, and this after he’d homered in back-toback games just once in his six-year career. It’s good timing, too, given his expiring contract.
Murphy went 9 for 17 with four homers and six RBIs in the NLCS after going deep 14 times during the season. In nine playoff games, he has seven long balls and is 13 for 38 with eight RBIs.
Murphy, a left-handed hitter who hit just one homer off a left-hander in the regular season, blasted one off Dodgers lefty Clayton Kershaw in Game 1 of the NL Division Series. He hit a solo homer off left-hander Jon Lester in Game 1 of the NLCS and a two-run drive off Jake Arrieta in Game 2. And when Murphy connected off Kyle Hendricks in Game 3 on Tuesday, that gave him homers in five straight playoff games, tying the mark set by Houston’s Carlos Beltran in 2004.