Baseball Daily Dose: Daily Dose: Murphy's Law
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The Mets didn’t waste any time dashing what little hope remained for the Cubs in Game 4 of the NLCS at Wrigley Field on Wednesday night. Cubs starter Jason Hammel allowed a leadoff single to Curtis Granderson to lead off the first, then walked Yoenis Cespedes with one out before serving up a well-struck three-run home run to center field off the bat of Lucas Duda. Travis d’Arnaud made it back-to-back jacks with a solo home run to right field. Just like that, the Cubs were in a four-run hole.
Hammel issued a one-out walk to David Wright before getting yanked in the second inning. Lefty Travis Wood came in, served up a single to Daniel Murphy and struck out Cespedes, creating an escape route out of the inning. Duda struck again, however, ripping a double to right-center to plate two more runs – RBI’s four and five – which pushed the Mets’ lead to 6-0.
The Cubs didn’t go down quietly, to their credit. They loaded the bases with no outs against Matz in the fourth on a double, a walk, and a single, but were only able to push across one run with a Kyle Schwarber ground out. Matz got into some more trouble in the fifth, allowing back-to-back singles with two outs, but Bartolo Colon came in and struck out Kris Bryant to escape the jam. Matz was on the hook for just the one run on four hits and a pair of walks with four strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings.
Daniel Murphy went 4-for-5 with two singles and a double. It looked like he was finally going to end a playoff game without a homer, but he took Cubs reliever Fernando Rodney out to center field with a man aboard, deepening the Cubs’ deficit to 8-1. Murphy has now homered in six consecutive post-season games, setting a new record. He was previously tied with Carlos Beltran (2004, Astros) with homers in five straight.
Kris Bryant answered the Murphy homer with a two-run shot of his own, a no-doubter over the fence in left-center. He brought home Jorge Soler, who led off the bottom of the eighth with a double against Mets reliever Tyler Clippard.
Closer Jeurys Familia took over in the ninth with an ample five-run lead. He got two quick ground outs from Chris Coghlan and Tommy La Stella, but walked Miguel Montero after running the count full. He also ran the count full to Dexter Fowler but got a friendly call from home plate umpire Paul Emmel, getting the high strike to punch out Fowler looking.
The Mets are back in the World Series for the first time since 2000, when they lost the Subway Series in five games to the Yankees. Their championship drought extends back to 1986, when the Mets needed all seven games to outlast the Red Sox.
The Mets will have six days to rest and watch the remainder of the ALCS. They’ll certainly be waiting with bated breath to find out if their opponent will be the Royals or the Blue Jays.
Estrada’s Gem Keeps Jays Alive
With the Blue Jays’ season on the line in Game 5 of the ALCS on Wednesday evening, Marco Estrada delivered one of the best performances of his career. The right-hander brought a shutout into the eighth inning, losing it with two outs when Salvador Perez hit a solo home run to right field at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. He would allow a single to Alex Gordon before Aaron Sanchez took over on the mound.
Estrada allowed just the one run on three hits and a walk with five strikeouts over 7 2/3 innings. He earned a game score of 73, ranking among the 13 best starts of his career. It’s the second-best start by a Jays starter in the post-season, behind Dave Stieb (83, 1985) and ahead of Juan Guzman (72, 1993).
On the offensive side of things, first baseman Chris Colabello got the scoring started when he drilled an Edinson Volquez change-up over the fence in left-center for a solo homer. The Jays tacked on in the sixth inning as Edwin Encarnacion drew a bases-loaded walk, forcing Volquez out of the game. Troy Tulowitzki cleared the bases with a double to left-center against Kelvin Herrera, making it 5-0. Volquez finished with five runs charged to his line on three hits and four walks with two strikeouts in five-plus innings.
The Jays continued to add runs to stave off a never-say-die Royals offense. Jose Bautista ripped an RBI double off the wall in center in the seventh and Kevin Pillar brought in the Jays’ seventh run with an RBI double in the eighth, though he was thrown out attempting to reach third base. In the end, that Perez home run was far too little, too late. Perez has homered four times this post-season, including twice against the Jays.
Closer Roberto Osuna needed only five pitches to get through the top of the ninth with a six-run lead. Ben Zobrist, Lorenzo Cain, and Eric Hosmer each grounded out in an easy frame.
The two clubs will take Thursday off as the series returns back to Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. David Price will take the hill for the Blue Jays (he was available in relief in Game 5 but was unused), while the Royals will tab Yordano Ventura on a full slate of rest.
Cespedes Exits with Sore Shoulder
The lone bit of bad news during the Mets’ clincher in Game 4 of the NLCS on Wednesday was the early exit of center fielder Yoenis Cespedes. The slugger walked in the top of the first inning and struck out in the second and did not take the field for the bottom half. Juan Lagares replaced him in center field.
MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo reports that Cespedes was taken out due to a sore left shoulder. The Mets won’t play Game 1 of the World Series until Tuesday evening, so he’ll have plenty of time to heal up.
Cespedes has six singles, a double, two home runs, and seven RBI in 35 trips to the plate for the Mets this post-season.
Quick Hits: Mets manager Terry Collins is reportedly seeking a two-year contract extension … The Rangers outrighted catcher Carlos Corporan, first baseman Kyle Blanks, outfielder Antoan Richardson, and outfielder Ryan Strausborger to Triple-A Round Rock on Wednesday … The Dodgers claimed pitcher Lisalverto Bonilla off waivers from the Rangers on Wednesday … The Twins outrighted catcher Eric Fryer, outfielder Shane Robinson, and pitcher Aaron Thompson to Triple-A Rochester on Wednesday … Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar had a hit in four at-bats in Wednesday’s Game 5 loss to the Blue Jays, extending his playoff hitting streak to nine games and his average to .529 … Royals outfielder Lorenzo Cain went 0-for-3 in ALCS Game 5, snapping his 13-game post-season hitting streak dating back to Game 4 of the 2014 World Series … Blue Jays reliever Aaron Loup (personal) is expected to be available for Game 6 of the ALCS on Friday.
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