The New York Mets defeated the Chicago Cubs 8-3 in Game Four of the National League Championship Series to complete a sweep and advance to the World Series for the first time since 2000. The prediction made in “Back to the Future II” that the Cubs would win the World Series in 2015 (over Miami) will not come to be.
New York was led by NLCS MVP Daniel Murphy, who homered in the top of the eighth inning off of Fernando Rodney to set the record of 6 straight playoff games with a home run. In the series, the Mets second baseman hit .529 (9-17) against the Cubs with four home runs, six runs batted in and six runs scored. He went 4-5 in the clincher, adding two singles and a double to go with his home run.
Murphy was not the only met to have a huge night at the plate. Lucas Duda had a three-hit night, including a monstrous three-run homer off of Chicago starter Jason Hammel to give New York an immediate 3-0 lead in the first inning. Travis D’Arnaud followed with a solo blast to make it 4-0 and erase any doubt as to the outcome of the game and series.
Starter Steven Matz went 4 2/3 solid innings before being lifted in the 5th with two men on. Bartolo Colon proceeded to strike out Kris Bryant. Bryant would later provide the Cubs lone highlight of the night, blasting a two-run home run into the left field bleachers off of Tyler Clippard in the bottom of the 8th. The Mets led the entire series and became the third team in the Wild Card era to sweep the NLCS joining the 1995 Braves and 2007 Rockies.
This is the fifth World Series appearance in the Mets franchise history; the team previously reached the Fall Classic in 1969, 1973, 1986 and 2000. New York will face either Kansas City or Toronto in the World Series, which begins next Tuesday. The Royals lead the American League Championship Series thrww games to two.
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