The Mets moved within one game of the World Series after beating the Cubs 5-2 on Tuesday to take a commanding 3-0 series lead in the NL Championship Series.
Mets starter Jacob deGrom held the Cubs in check, allowing two runs on four hits over seven innings. The 27-year-old became the second Mets pitcher to win three straight postseason starts (Jerry Koosman, 1969-73).
MORE: Best images from the series | Daniel Murphy ties postseason record | Kyle Schwarber sets Cubs mark
Tyler Clippard and Jeurys Familia finished off the Cubs with a scoreless inning apiece, and the Mets took their first 3-0 series lead in a best-of-seven postseason series.
Here are our five takeaways from Game 3:
1. Cubs rookies were poor on defense. Kris Bryant, Jorge Soler, Kyle Schwarber and Javier Baez all misjudged balls Tuesday. Only Baez was charged with an error, but botched catch attempts from Soler and Schwarber lead to two Mets runs. Add a wild pitch from Trevor Cahill in the sixth and only four innings from starter Kyle Hendricks, and it's easy to see how the Mets pulled away in Game 3.
2. Daniel Murphy is on a whole new level. The Mets second baseman continues to rake at the plate. He homered in his fifth consecutive playoff game, tying an MLB postseason record held by Carlos Beltran. The recent power display is something new for Murphy this season. He had a career-high 14 home runs in 538 regular-season plate appearances; he has six in 31 postseason plate appearances.
3. The Wrigley Field ivy stole a run from the Mets. In hindsight, New York didn't need an additional run, but manager Terry Collins was right to be upset at the ground rules at Wrigley that limit runners to just two bases if a ball enters the ivy. Collins was angry because Soler misjudged a liner off the bat of Wilmer Flores in right and lay helplessly on the ground as the ball rolled into the ivy. In any other park it would have at least been an RBI double, but instead Michael Conforto was forced to return to third base.
4. Schwarber continues to smash postseason homers. With his first-inning long ball, Schwarber established himself as one of the best young postseason power hitters with five for the playoffs. The estimated 367-foot shot gave Schwarber the most homers in playoff history before age 23, breaking a tie with Miguel Cabrera, Bryce Harper, Andruw Jones and Mickey Mantle (four).
5. DeGrom struggled with his fastball command. As was the case in Game 5 of the NLDS against the Dodgers, deGrom had problems spotting his fastball early in his start. According to Inside Edge, deGrom allowed just two homers this season on fastballs located on the outer third of the plate or off the plate away — he allowed two solo blasts in Game 3.
What's next: Game 4 at Chicago on Wednesday, 8:07 p.m. ET. Jason Hammel (10-7, 3.74 ERA) will take the mound as the Cubs look to avoid the sweep. Steven Matz (4-0, 2.27 ERA) will toe the rubber for the Mets. Matz took the loss in the club's 3-1 defeat against the Dodgers in Game 4 of the NLDS after allowing three runs on six hits over five innings.