Murphy Leads Mets to World Series!

Sometimes players play better on a bigger stage.

Back during the regular season – remember the regular season?– second baseman Daniel Murphy came to bat 499 times for the New York Mets and hit 14 home runs.

When the Mets completed their National League Championship Series sweep of the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night, Murphy set a record by hitting a home run in his sixth consecutive playoff game. He was 9 for 17 with four homers and six RBIs in the NLCS, earning MVP honors for the series, and has hit seven homers while going 13 for 38 with eight RBIs in nine playoff games.

The Mets defeated the Cubs 8-3, and the long ball was the theme all evening, right from the start. The Cubs never really had a chance. Lucas Duda hit a three-run homer and Travis d’Arnaud immediately followed with a solo shot to give the Mets a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning and Duda doubled in two more in the second. Murphy’s two-run shot in the eighth gave the Mets an 8-1 lead and the Cubs simply weren’t coming back from that.

The Mets are headed to their first World Series since 2000. They’ll get a bit of down time before the (late) October Classic begins on Tuesday.

In the American League Championship Series, the Toronto Blue Jays play the Kansas City Royals on Friday night in Game 6, with the Royals leading three games to two. The Blue Jays won on Wednesday, 7-1.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .