Mets 5, Cubs 2
CHICAGO -- The New York Mets moved within one win of their first World Series appearance since 2000, beating the Chicago Cubs 5-2 Tuesday in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series.
The Mets claimed a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven set, and they would clinch their fifth NL pennant with a win Wednesday night at Wrigley Field.
In the third inning, Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy tied the all-time major league record by homering in a fifth consecutive postseason game.
New York snapped a 2-2 tie with a go-ahead run in a freakish sixth inning.
Met right-hander Jacob deGrom improved to 3-0 in the postseason after working seven strong innings. He allowed two runs on four hits, walked one and struck out seven. Right-hander Jeurys Familia worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his third save of the series.
Right hander Trevor Cahill, the third of seven Cubs pitchers, took the loss in front of an announced crowd of 42,231.
Mets center fielder Yoenis Cespedes scored from third with two outs in the sixth on what should have been an inning-ending third strike to left fielder Michael Conforto from Cahill. The ball skipped past catcher Miguel Montero for a wild pitch as Cespedes sprinted home and Conforto reached base.
New York added two more in the seventh. Chicago left fielder Kyle Schwarber misjudged a Cespedes one-out fly ball that dropped for a single, scoring David Wright.
Murphy, who reached on an infield single earlier in the inning, advanced to third on the throw and made it 5-2 when he came home on first baseman Lucas Duda's grounder to first.
Cespedes and Wright each had three hits, while Murphy went 2-for-5 with two runs.
The Mets hit Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks for a first-inning run on Cespedes' two-out double to left-center.
Schwarber answered with a solo home run in the bottom of the inning, launching deGrom's 3-2 pitch to the left field bleachers for his fifth of the postseason and a 1-1 tie.
Murphy gave New York a 2-1 lead in the third with his two-out, solo homer to right-center. With the shot, his sixth of the playoffs, Murphy joined Carlos Beltran (2004 Houston Astros) as the only players in postseason history to homer five games in a row.
The lead didn't last. In the fourth, Chicago right fielder Jorge Soler collected his third postseason homer, a solo blast to right-center that forged a 2-2 tie.
Hendricks, pulled for a pinch hitter after throwing four innings, wasn't involved in the decision. He gave up two runs on five hits, walked one and struck out four.
NOTES: Only one team rallied from an 0-2 deficit to win an NL Championship Series since the seven-game format was adopted. The 1985 St. Louis Cardinals rallied to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers. ... The Mets were 0-7 during the regular season against the Cubs, including 0-4 at Wrigley Field. ... Chicago sends RHP Jason Hammel against New York LHP Steven Matz in Game 4 on Wednesday. Hammel had no decision in the Cubs' Game 4 win over the Cardinals in the NL Division Series last week. Matz took the loss as the Mets fell 3-1 to the Dodgers in Game 4 of the NLDS. ... Tuesday's game is the latest date for a game played at Wrigley Field. The previous latest of Oct. 15, 2003, came in the NLCS against the Marlins. ... Cubs LF Kyle Schwarber's five postseason home runs are a franchise record for a rookie.