The New York Mets have reached baseball’s World Series for the first time since 2000 with an 8-3 rout of the Chicago Cubs to complete a four-game sweep in the National League Championship Series.
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With one more series left to play, and the most important one of them all, Murphy enters the World Series just one homer shy of tying the record for the most ever in a single postseason while he has already tallied the most ever by a second baseman.
While the Mets’ pitching dominated much of the series, it was clear the Cubs were in trouble after aces Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta dropped the first two games in New York. The big market Mets will play either the small-market Kansas City Royals or the Toronto Blue Jays, whose home fans aren’t included in the ratings.
Right when it looked as if his historic streak was coming to an end, Murphy connected for a two-run drive to center against Fernando Rodney in the eighth inning. The Mets dominated the Cubs in the NLCS from the first inning of Game 1 until the final out of Game 4.
Some history was made, too. “They had a great year, and their future is really, really bright”. “I think it’s helpful that you’ve been there”, Collins said. The Cubs hammered the Cardinals staff in the NLDS (10 home runs), however they only hit four home runs in the NLCS.
After Daniel Murphy’s heroics in Game 2 of the NLCS, rumors surfaced that the New York Mets do not plan to deal with him differently in the offseason.
Murphy is quick to credit hitting coach Kevin Long for adjustments to his swing. “See how far we’ve come within a very short period of time, understand the personal growth and the team growth that occurred, and also understand we go to spring training next year, we can really just jump right on it. We know what we want to do and how we want to do it”. Maybe it’s a remarkable case of a guy hulking out in his contract year (this playoff run will do wonders for Murphy’s first career free agency, and, ironically, ensure that he’ll cost more than the Mets are willing to pay to re-sign him). 208 with a. 650 OPS and still managed to beat Cy Young hopefuls Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke in a five-game series.
Meanwhile, TiqIQ, which tracks the listing price of re-sale tickets, said the average asking price for Mets home games for the World Series is $1,667.82, making them the most expensive on record. The Cubs never once held the lead in the series.
Freeze, you may remember, hit five home runs that postseason, none bigger than his Game 6 blast to win the game in the 11th inning at home against the Texas Rangers.
“Beyond that, defensively, I think they’re all going to be high-end, high-caliber defensive players”.
“Cespedes’ shoulder is going to be OK”, Collins said.
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Daniel Murphy’s October has unfolded in such a manner that it would be news if he doesn’t hit a home run in Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday. Hammel last just one batter into the second inning Wednesday night and was booed as he left the mound.
