(Story & Photo by Marco Stoovelaar)
 Mets take 3-0 lead; one win away from World Series
Nederlands
 CHICAGO, Illinois (USA) -
The New York Mets took the lead three times, then took some more distance in the seventh inning to win 5-2 against the Chicago Cubs in Game Three in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series on Tuesday-evening (October 20).
With the win, the Mets are leading the series now 3-0 and are one win away from reaching the World Series.
Powerhitters Daniel Murphy (Mets) and Kyle Schwarber (Cubs) both homered again tonight!
Game Four will be played on Wednesday.
Earlier today, the Kansas City Royals had a productive outing and won with a big 14-2 vs. the Toronto Blue Jays to take a 3-1 lead in the American League Championship Series.
With a win on Wednesday, the Royals will win the series and return to the World Series.
Starting pitchers tonight were righthander Kyle Hendricks for the Cubs and righthander Jacob deGrom for the Mets.
Kyle Hendricks was 8-7 this season with a 3.95 ERA.
During the season, the righthander had a streak of 22 1/3 scoreless innings.
In his career, Hendricks started twice against the Mets, winning both, including one this season.
In the NLDS vs. the St. Louis Cardinals, Hendricks started Game Two, giving up three homeruns in 4 2/3 inning.
Jacob deGrom was 14-8 this season with a 2.54 ERA.
He started Game One and Five of the NLDS vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers and was the winning pitcher in both outings.
In his career, deGrom is 0-2 against the Cubs, with both losses coming this season., including one at Wrigley Field.
In the top of the first inning, the Mets opened the score off of Kyle Hendricks.
Lead-off hitter Curtis Granderson reached on an error, but then was caught stealing.
Hereafter, David Wright singled, then scored all the way from first base on a double by Yoenis Cespedes to give the Mets an early lead.
The Cubs came alongside immediately in its first at bat off of Jacob de Grom.
With one out, Kyle Schwarber homered to make it an 1-1 tie.
This was Schwarber's fifth homerun this postseason, which extended a club-record for rookies.
With his fifth homerun, Schwarber now also set a new club-record for homeruns in a postseason.
Before today, he shared the record with Alex Gonzalez and Aramis Ramirez, who both hit four homeruns in 2003.
The homerun was the ninth basehit for Schwarber this postseason, setting a new club-record for rookies.
He shared the record with Jerome Walton, who hit eight hits in the 1989 NLCS.
...The Mets were successful tonight in beautiful Wrigley Field...
(© Photo: Marco Stoovelaar) |
The Mets appeared to do something back again in the top of the second inning.
Travis d'Arnaud led off with a single and Michael Conforto walked, but then a grounder and double play followed.
New York then did re-take the lead in the top of the third inning when Daniel Murphy homered with two outs.
With that, Murphy now has homered in five consecutive games!
With four, he already had set a new club-record, but now with five, he also tied the overall postseason-record of five, which was set in 2004 by Carlos Beltran, while playing for the Houston Astros.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Cubs made it a tie score again and for the third time tonight, the run was scored on a homerun.
With one out, Jorge Soler homered off of deGrom to make it a 2-2 score.
The Mets took the lead for the third time tonight by scoring in the top of the sixth inning off of new pitcher Trevor Cahill.
He gave up a lead-off single to Yoenis Cespedes, then advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Lucas Duda and stole third base moments later.
With two outs, Michael Conforto struckout, but the third strike ended in a wild enabling Cespedes to score and give the Mets a 3-2 lead.
Hereafter, Wilmer Flores drove the ball into rightfield where Jorge Soler attempted to catch the ball, but it went by him towards the wall.
There, centerfielder Dexter Fowler saw the ball disappear in the ivy and put up his arms.
In the meantime, Conforto had scored, but as the ball became unplayable, it automatically became a ground-rule double and so, the runner was sent back to third base.
Mets-Manager Terrry Collins argued with Home Plate Umpire Ted Barrett, as Conforto had scored once the ball got stuck in the ivy.
However, the ground-rules of Wrigley Field state that in such on occasion it will be a double.
Moments later, the inning ended, but the Mets were back on top.
In the seventh inning, the Mets took more distance by adding two runs.
With one out off of new pitcher Travis Wood, David Wright doubled, then Daniel Murphy reached on an infield-hit.
Hereafter, Justin Grimm became the new pitcher, but was greeted with a runscoring single by Yoenis Cespedes.
Murphy moved to third base on the throw the plate from the outfield.
Moments later, he scored on a grounder towards first base by Lucas Duda to make it a 5-2 score, beating the throw at the plate to avoid a possible double play.
With the 3-run lead, closer Jeurys Familia took the mound for the Mets in the bottom of the ninth inning, while it started raining heavily.
Familia retired the side and earned his third save of the series.
(October 20)
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