Stats of the Day: deGrom king of postseason
Here are five interesting items from the Championship Series on Tuesday …
Daniel Murphy homered again, Jacob deGrom won again and the Mets moved to within one victory of the National League pennant as they defeated the Cubs, 5-2, in Game 3 of the NL Championship Series. deGrom allowed two runs in seven innings to record his third win of the 2015 postseason; he is the 20th pitcher to start and win each of his first three postseason games. He is the only Met to do this. The right-hander fanned seven in Game 3 and has 27 strikeouts in his three playoff appearances. For pitchers through their first three postseason appearances, those 27 are the fourth most. Those with more: Bob Gibson (31), Tim Lincecum (29) and Jake Arrieta (28).
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In the third inning, with the game tied at 1, Murphy connected for a solo home run. It was his sixth of the 2015 postseason and his fifth in five games. Murphy's six tie for the most for a second baseman, matching Chase Utley's tally from 2009. The homers in five straight games tied Carlos Beltran's postseason record, set in 2004, and Murphy's six homers through his first eight postseason games tie him with Ken Griffey Jr. for the second most. Beltran hit seven.
Video: NLCS Gm3: Murphy hits homer for fifth straight game
In the Cubs' Game 3 loss, Kyle Schwarber homered. Schwarber -- 22 years and 229 days old for his latest showcase of power -- is the first player in postseason history to be less than 23 years old and to homer in five postseason games in one year. His five homers are the most for a player in a postseason career before he turned 23. At four, he had been tied with Mickey Mantle, Andruw Jones, Miguel Cabrera and Bryce Harper.
The Royals put together a record-setting performance on Tuesday, surging to a 14-2 victory over the Blue Jays in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series that brought them to within one win of the capturing the AL pennant, scoring four in the first and then erupting for nine additional runs over the final three innings. The 14 runs established a new franchise record for a postseason game, eclipsing the 11 they posted in Game 7 of the 1985 World Series. The 14 also tied for the fourth most by any team in an LCS contest. And for the second straight game, the Royals collected 15 hits. They are the fifth team in postseason history to have consecutive 15-hit attacks, joining the 1960 Yankees, the 1995 Mariners, the 2002 Angels and the 2007 Red Sox.
Video: ALCS Gm4: Royals put up four-spot in the 1st inning
After Royals starter Chris Young went 4 2/3 innings, the bullpen contributed 4 1/3 scoreless innings of four-hit relief. In this ALCS, Kansas City's relief corps has thrown 17 innings and posted a 1.59 ERA. In contrast, the Blue Jays' bullpen has produced a 10.29 ERA in 14 innings.