CHICAGO -- Daniel Murphy is a contact hitter known for shaky fielding and occasionally getting lost on the bases.
This playoff impersonation of Babe Ruth, Roberto Alomar and Derek Jeter all rolled into one? He can't explain it, nor can his manager.
"Question is: Who is this guy?" skipper Terry Collins said.
Murphy homered in his record-tying fifth straight postseason game, Jacob deGrom pitched seven strong innings, and the New York Mets beat the Chicago Cubs 5-2 Tuesday to take a 3-0 lead in the NL Championship Series.
"I've watched a lot of baseball over the years. I don't think I've seen anybody put on this kind of a show on this stage like he has so far," Collins said. "I mean, even the guys in the dugout, they're baseball guys too, and they're saying the same thing."
A cluster of New York fans gathered in the rain behind their team's dugout after the final out and chanted "Let's go, Mets!" With a win Wednesday at Wrigley Field, the Mets will be going to their first World Series in 15 years.
Rookie Steven Matz gets the start for New York in Game 4, while Jason Hammel goes for the Cubs.
Murphy tied the homer mark set by Houston's Carlos Beltran in 2004 with his drive off Kyle Hendricks in the third. Murphy's home run was his sixth of the postseason in his 30th at-bat. He has hit just 62 home runs in 3,354 regular-season at-bats. The free-agent-to-be second baseman is also making sharp plays in the field and showing heads-up, aggressive instincts while running the bases.
"I wish I could explain it," said Murphy, who hit a career-high 14 homers in the 2015 regular season. "I would have done it like six years ago. I can't explain it."
After going 0-7 against the Cubs during the regular season, New York is overpowering Chicago with its arms and bats.
Yoenis Cespedes and David Wright each had three hits for the Mets. Cespedes scored the go-ahead run on a two-out wild pitch by Trevor Cahill on a strikeout of Michael Conforto in the sixth inning.
DeGrom followed dominant starts by Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard with one of his own. The NL Rookie of the Year held the Cubs' big bats to just two runs and four hits. He struck out seven, walked one and retired his final 11 batters. The righty with the flowing hair improved to 3-0 in his first postseason, with all his wins coming on the road. Jeurys Familia closed for his fifth save of the postseason.
In the first inning, Kyle Schwarber had the towel-waving crowd shaking 101-year-old Wrigley Field to its foundation with his club-record fifth homer of the postseason. Jorge Soler also had the crowd roaring with his solo drive in the fourth.
But manager Joe Maddon's Cubs have just five runs in this series. Barring an epic comeback, a World Series drought that dates to 1908 will continue.
Only one other team has won a playoff series after dropping the first three games. Theo Epstein's Red Sox came back against the New York Yankees in the 2004 AL Championship Series and ultimately ended their long championship curse. Now, the team Epstein constructed in Chicago, which has also stirred the imaginations of long-suffering fans, finds itself in a similar spot.
"Of course you think about those things. You think about the parallels, think about the fact that that happened against a New York team," said Maddon, whose team posted the majors' third-best record and came into this series on a 12-1 tear. "We think about all that stuff, but it's up to us to go out and play and execute."
Cespedes broke a 2-2 tie after he led off the sixth with a single against Cahill. He stole third and scored with two out as Conforto swung at a 2-2 pitch in the dirt. The ball rolled to the backstop, which allowed Conforto to reach first and extend the inning.
Conforto was forced to stay at third when Wilmer Flores' drive rolled to the ivy in right field and was called a ground-rule double. That drew a heated argument from Collins, who came back out to protest after he returned to the dugout.
The Mets added two more runs in the seventh to make it 5-2.
Hendricks went four innings for Chicago. He allowed two runs and five hits.
"This is not the spot where we want to be, but we're here, and we've got to face it," Schwarber said.
Never before had the Cubs played this late in the year at Wrigley Field, and the place was rocking when Schwarber tied the game with his solo homer to left-center. That homer wasn't quite as impressive as the shot he hit to the top of the right-field video board to help knock out St. Louis in Game 4 of the NLDS. That ball was encased where it settled. Still, Schwarber broke the franchise record set by Alex Gonzalez and Aramis Ramirez in 2003.
Murphy made it 2-1 in the third with his drive to center off Hendricks. In addition to tying Beltran's record, he set a Mets mark with his sixth postseason homer.
UP 3-0
The Mets are the fifth team to win the first three games of the NLCS since it went to a seven-game format in 1985. The others were Colorado in 2007, Atlanta in 1999, San Diego in 1998 and Atlanta in 1995. New York had never led any postseason series 3-0.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Mets: Collins said RHP Matt Harvey was feeling "a lot better" and he thinks his ace will be ready for Game 5, if necessary. Harvey was struck near his pitching shoulder by a comebacker in the series opener, which led to some swelling.
UP NEXT
Mets: Matz looks to rebound from a loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 4 of the NL Division Series. The rookie will be making his first appearance at Wrigley Field and his first against the Cubs.
Cubs: After tossing three innings in the clinching Game 4 of the NLDS against St. Louis, Hammel will try to extend the Cubs' season.
This playoff impersonation of Babe Ruth, Roberto Alomar and Derek Jeter all rolled into one? He can't explain it, nor can his manager.
"Question is: Who is this guy?" skipper Terry Collins said.
Murphy homered in his record-tying fifth straight postseason game, Jacob deGrom pitched seven strong innings, and the New York Mets beat the Chicago Cubs 5-2 Tuesday to take a 3-0 lead in the NL Championship Series.
"I've watched a lot of baseball over the years. I don't think I've seen anybody put on this kind of a show on this stage like he has so far," Collins said. "I mean, even the guys in the dugout, they're baseball guys too, and they're saying the same thing."
A cluster of New York fans gathered in the rain behind their team's dugout after the final out and chanted "Let's go, Mets!" With a win Wednesday at Wrigley Field, the Mets will be going to their first World Series in 15 years.
Rookie Steven Matz gets the start for New York in Game 4, while Jason Hammel goes for the Cubs.
Murphy tied the homer mark set by Houston's Carlos Beltran in 2004 with his drive off Kyle Hendricks in the third. Murphy's home run was his sixth of the postseason in his 30th at-bat. He has hit just 62 home runs in 3,354 regular-season at-bats. The free-agent-to-be second baseman is also making sharp plays in the field and showing heads-up, aggressive instincts while running the bases.
"I wish I could explain it," said Murphy, who hit a career-high 14 homers in the 2015 regular season. "I would have done it like six years ago. I can't explain it."
After going 0-7 against the Cubs during the regular season, New York is overpowering Chicago with its arms and bats.
Yoenis Cespedes and David Wright each had three hits for the Mets. Cespedes scored the go-ahead run on a two-out wild pitch by Trevor Cahill on a strikeout of Michael Conforto in the sixth inning.
DeGrom followed dominant starts by Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard with one of his own. The NL Rookie of the Year held the Cubs' big bats to just two runs and four hits. He struck out seven, walked one and retired his final 11 batters. The righty with the flowing hair improved to 3-0 in his first postseason, with all his wins coming on the road. Jeurys Familia closed for his fifth save of the postseason.
In the first inning, Kyle Schwarber had the towel-waving crowd shaking 101-year-old Wrigley Field to its foundation with his club-record fifth homer of the postseason. Jorge Soler also had the crowd roaring with his solo drive in the fourth.
But manager Joe Maddon's Cubs have just five runs in this series. Barring an epic comeback, a World Series drought that dates to 1908 will continue.
Only one other team has won a playoff series after dropping the first three games. Theo Epstein's Red Sox came back against the New York Yankees in the 2004 AL Championship Series and ultimately ended their long championship curse. Now, the team Epstein constructed in Chicago, which has also stirred the imaginations of long-suffering fans, finds itself in a similar spot.
"Of course you think about those things. You think about the parallels, think about the fact that that happened against a New York team," said Maddon, whose team posted the majors' third-best record and came into this series on a 12-1 tear. "We think about all that stuff, but it's up to us to go out and play and execute."
Cespedes broke a 2-2 tie after he led off the sixth with a single against Cahill. He stole third and scored with two out as Conforto swung at a 2-2 pitch in the dirt. The ball rolled to the backstop, which allowed Conforto to reach first and extend the inning.
Conforto was forced to stay at third when Wilmer Flores' drive rolled to the ivy in right field and was called a ground-rule double. That drew a heated argument from Collins, who came back out to protest after he returned to the dugout.
The Mets added two more runs in the seventh to make it 5-2.
Hendricks went four innings for Chicago. He allowed two runs and five hits.
"This is not the spot where we want to be, but we're here, and we've got to face it," Schwarber said.
Never before had the Cubs played this late in the year at Wrigley Field, and the place was rocking when Schwarber tied the game with his solo homer to left-center. That homer wasn't quite as impressive as the shot he hit to the top of the right-field video board to help knock out St. Louis in Game 4 of the NLDS. That ball was encased where it settled. Still, Schwarber broke the franchise record set by Alex Gonzalez and Aramis Ramirez in 2003.
Murphy made it 2-1 in the third with his drive to center off Hendricks. In addition to tying Beltran's record, he set a Mets mark with his sixth postseason homer.
UP 3-0
The Mets are the fifth team to win the first three games of the NLCS since it went to a seven-game format in 1985. The others were Colorado in 2007, Atlanta in 1999, San Diego in 1998 and Atlanta in 1995. New York had never led any postseason series 3-0.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Mets: Collins said RHP Matt Harvey was feeling "a lot better" and he thinks his ace will be ready for Game 5, if necessary. Harvey was struck near his pitching shoulder by a comebacker in the series opener, which led to some swelling.
UP NEXT
Mets: Matz looks to rebound from a loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 4 of the NL Division Series. The rookie will be making his first appearance at Wrigley Field and his first against the Cubs.
Cubs: After tossing three innings in the clinching Game 4 of the NLDS against St. Louis, Hammel will try to extend the Cubs' season.
| View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-Pitch | Inning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| New York - Top of 1st | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|
| Kyle Hendricks pitching for Chicago | NYM | CHC |
| Granderson safe at first on error by shortstop Báez. | 0 | 0 |
| Granderson caught stealing second, catcher to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Wright singled to left center. | 0 | 0 |
| Murphy struck out looking. | 0 | 0 |
| Céspedes doubled to deep left, Wright scored. | 1 | 0 |
| Duda flied out to left. | 1 | 0 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| Chicago - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| Jacob deGrom pitching for New York | NYM | CHC |
| Fowler struck out looking. | 1 | 0 |
| Schwarber homered to left (374 feet). | 1 | 1 |
| Bryant flied out to right. | 1 | 1 |
| Rizzo singled to left center. | 1 | 1 |
| Castro singled to shallow left, Rizzo to second. | 1 | 1 |
| Soler grounded out to shortstop. | 1 | 1 |
| 1 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Kyle Hendricks pitching for Chicago | NYM | CHC |
| d'Arnaud singled to center. | 1 | 1 |
| Conforto walked, d'Arnaud to second. | 1 | 1 |
| Flores grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, d'Arnaud out at third, Conforto to second. | 1 | 1 |
| deGrom grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, Flores out at second. | 1 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Chicago - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Jacob deGrom pitching for New York | NYM | CHC |
| Montero flied out to center. | 1 | 1 |
| Hendricks struck out swinging. | 1 | 1 |
| Báez struck out swinging. | 1 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Kyle Hendricks pitching for Chicago | NYM | CHC |
| Granderson struck out swinging. | 1 | 1 |
| Wright struck out swinging. | 1 | 1 |
| Murphy homered to center (419 feet). | 2 | 1 |
| Céspedes flied out to center. | 2 | 1 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Chicago - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Jacob deGrom pitching for New York | NYM | CHC |
| Fowler fouled out to third. | 2 | 1 |
| Schwarber walked. | 2 | 1 |
| Bryant struck out swinging. | 2 | 1 |
| Rizzo grounded out to shortstop. | 2 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| Kyle Hendricks pitching for Chicago | NYM | CHC |
| Duda singled to right. | 2 | 1 |
| d'Arnaud struck out swinging. | 2 | 1 |
| Conforto lined out to second. | 2 | 1 |
| Flores flied out to right. | 2 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Chicago - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| Jacob deGrom pitching for New York | NYM | CHC |
| Castro grounded out to second. | 2 | 1 |
| Soler homered to right center (424 feet). | 2 | 2 |
| Montero flied out to center. | 2 | 2 |
| Coghlan hit for Hendricks. | 2 | 2 |
| Coghlan struck out swinging. | 2 | 2 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| Clayton Richard pitching for Chicago | NYM | CHC |
| Richard relieved Hendricks. | 2 | 2 |
| deGrom grounded out to third. | 2 | 2 |
| Granderson walked. | 2 | 2 |
| Wright singled to left center, Granderson to second. | 2 | 2 |
| Murphy grounded into double play, third to second to first, Wright out at second. | 2 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Chicago - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| Jacob deGrom pitching for New York | NYM | CHC |
| Báez grounded out to third. | 2 | 2 |
| Fowler grounded out to catcher. | 2 | 2 |
| Schwarber grounded out to shortstop. | 2 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| Trevor Cahill pitching for Chicago | NYM | CHC |
| Cahill relieved Richard. | 2 | 2 |
| Céspedes singled to right. | 2 | 2 |
| Duda sacrificed to catcher, Céspedes to second. | 2 | 2 |
| Céspedes stole third. | 2 | 2 |
| d'Arnaud grounded out to third. | 2 | 2 |
| Conforto struck out swinging, Conforto safe at first on wild pitch by Cahill, Céspedes scored. | 3 | 2 |
| Flores hit a ground rule double to deep right, Conforto to third. | 3 | 2 |
| deGrom flied out to left. | 3 | 2 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Chicago - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| Jacob deGrom pitching for New York | NYM | CHC |
| Bryant struck out swinging. | 3 | 2 |
| Rizzo flied out to center. | 3 | 2 |
| Castro lined out to left. | 3 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Travis Wood pitching for Chicago | NYM | CHC |
| Wood relieved Cahill. | 3 | 2 |
| Granderson struck out swinging. | 3 | 2 |
| Wright doubled to left. | 3 | 2 |
| Murphy reached on infield single to third, Wright to third. | 3 | 2 |
| Grimm relieved Wood. | 3 | 2 |
| Céspedes singled to left, Wright scored. Céspedes to second, Murphy to third advancing on throw. | 4 | 2 |
| Duda grounded out to first, Murphy scored, Céspedes to third. | 5 | 2 |
| d'Arnaud struck out swinging. | 5 | 2 |
| 2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Chicago - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| Jacob deGrom pitching for New York | NYM | CHC |
| Soler flied out to right. | 5 | 2 |
| Montero struck out swinging. | 5 | 2 |
| La Stella hit for Grimm. | 5 | 2 |
| La Stella flied out to left. | 5 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Pedro Strop pitching for Chicago | NYM | CHC |
| Castro at shortstop. | 5 | 2 |
| La Stella at second base. | 5 | 2 |
| Strop relieved Grimm. | 5 | 2 |
| Conforto lined out to second. | 5 | 2 |
| Flores grounded out to first. | 5 | 2 |
| Johnson hit for deGrom. | 5 | 2 |
| Johnson struck out swinging. | 5 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Chicago - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| Tyler Clippard pitching for New York | NYM | CHC |
| Céspedes in left field. | 5 | 2 |
| Clippard relieved deGrom. | 5 | 2 |
| Lagares in center field. | 5 | 2 |
| Denorfia hit for Strop. | 5 | 2 |
| Denorfia struck out looking. | 5 | 2 |
| Fowler doubled to right. | 5 | 2 |
| Schwarber popped out to shortstop. | 5 | 2 |
| Bryant flied out to center. | 5 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| Hector Rondon pitching for Chicago | NYM | CHC |
| Rondón relieved Strop. | 5 | 2 |
| Granderson struck out swinging. | 5 | 2 |
| Wright walked. | 5 | 2 |
| Murphy flied out to left, Wright to second. | 5 | 2 |
| Céspedes flied out to center. | 5 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Chicago - Bottom of 9th | SCORE | |
| Jeurys Familia pitching for New York | NYM | CHC |
| Familia relieved Clippard. | 5 | 2 |
| Rizzo grounded out to second. | 5 | 2 |
| Castro grounded out to third. | 5 | 2 |
| Soler struck out looking. | 5 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York Mets | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Granderson RF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 23 | .200 | .308 | .200 |
| Wright 3B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 22 | .364 | .462 | .545 |
| Murphy 2B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 19 | .417 | .462 | 1.167 |
| Céspedes CF-LF | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 13 | .308 | .308 | .385 |
| Duda 1B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 15 | .167 | .167 | .167 |
| d'Arnaud C | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 15 | .273 | .273 | .545 |
| Conforto LF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 18 | .000 | .143 | .000 |
Clippard P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
Familia P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Flores SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | .200 | .200 | .300 |
| deGrom P | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
a-Johnson PH
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
Lagares CF
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 | .500 | .500 |
| Totals | 36 | 5 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 150 | |||
| a-struck out swinging for J Degrom in the 8th | ||||||||||
| BATTING 2B: Céspedes (1, Hendricks); Flores (1, Cahill); Wright (2, Wood) HR: Murphy (3, 3rd inning off Hendricks 0 on, 2 Out) RBI: Céspedes 2 (3), Murphy (4), Duda (1) S: Duda 2-out RBI: Céspedes, Murphy GIDP: deGrom, Murphy Mets RISP: 2-12 (Céspedes 1-2, deGrom 0-2, Murphy 1-2, Flores 0-1, d'Arnaud 0-2, Conforto 0-1, Duda 0-2) Team LOB: 8 | ||||||||||
| BASERUNNING SB: Céspedes (1, 3rd base off Cahill/Montero) CS: Granderson (1, 2nd base by Hendricks/Montero) | ||||||||||
Game Information
| Stadium | Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL |
| Attendance | 42,231 (103.2% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 3:01 |
| Weather | 72 degrees, partly cloudy |
| Wind | 3 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Ted Barrett, First Base - Paul Emmel, Second Base - Eric Cooper, Third Base - Bill Miller, Left Field - Mark Wegner, Right Field - Tim Timmons |
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