Lucas Duda had five RBI, Daniel Murphy homered in his sixth straight postseason game, Steven Matz allowed one run in 4 2/3 innings, and the bullpen closed it out as the Mets beat the Cubs, 8-3, on Wednesday night at Wrigley Field in Game 4 of the NLCS to advance to the World Series for the first time since 2000.
Lucas Duda‘s three-run homer to center field with two outs in the first inning gave the Mets a 3-0 lead. Travis d’Arnaud followed with a homer to right field to increase New York’s lead to 4-0.
With two outs in the second inning, Duda lined a double to right field to drive in David Wright and Daniel Murphy, giving him five RBI on the night as the Mets extended their lead to 6-0.
Kyle Schwarber‘s run-scoring ground out in the fourth inning cut the lead to 6-1, but Steven Matz got Javier Baez to foul out to strand runners on second and third and escape the inning.
After a two-out wind-aided misplay by Daniel Murphy extended the fifth inning, Matz surrendered a single to Jorge Soler and was replaced by Bartolo Colon. On a 3-2 count, Colon struck out Kris Bryant to end the threat.
Daniel Murphy’s two-run homer in the eighth inning increased the Mets’ lead to 8-1.
Bartolo Colon pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings in relief of Matz. After Addison Reed tossed a perfect seventh inning and Tyler Clippard came on in the eighth and allowed a two-run homer to Kris Bryant as the Cubs cut the lead to 8-3. Jeurys Familia worked around a two-out walk in the ninth inning to seal the win and send the Mets to the World Series.
Steven Matz didn’t allow his first runner until walking David Ross with two outs in the third inning and didn’t give up his first hit until Jorge Soler doubled leading off the fourth. Overall, Matz allowed one run on four hits, walked two and struck out four in 4 2/3 innings. He threw 76 pitches (46 strikes).
The Mets knocked Cubs RHP Jason Hammel out of the game with one out in the second inning after he allowed four runs on four hits while walking two and striking out one.
Daniel Murphy hit a home run in his sixth consecutive postseason game, a major league record.
Yoenis Cespedes exited the game before the bottom of the second inning due to left shoulder soreness. He was replaced in center field by Juan Lagares.
Tonight was the second time in Mets postseason history that they hit back-to-back home runs (Lucas Duda and Travis d’Arnaud). The only other time was Darryl Strawberry and Kevin McReynolds in Game 4 of the 1988 NLCS against the Dodgers.
The Mets are off until next Tuesday, when they’ll play Game 1 of the World Series in either Kansas City against the Royals or Toronto against the Blue Jays.
Matthew Cerrone
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I want to be poignant and poetic. I want to write something special like I did after the Mets won the NL East last month. But, truthfully, I’m speechless. There is a time for analysis and reflection and this is not one of those times. This is a time for a total, unbridled enthusiasm. This is a time to forget about the arguments about finances, forget about injuries, contracts, draft picks, and stats. It’s time to get up, smile, high five friends and scream, “Let’s Go Mets,” so the rest of New York can hear us loud and clear. The Mets are the best team in the National League, they’re going to the World Series, no one saw this coming and it’s amazing. Have fun, enjoy this, and keep looking forward…
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