Stats of the Day: Young sluggers displaying power
Here are five interesting items from the Division Series on Tuesday ...
• At Wrigley Field, the Cubs defeated the Cardinals, 6-4, to clinch their National League Division Series in four games and advance to the NL Championship Series. Chicago's victory represents the second postseason series the Cubs have won since they claimed their second straight World Series title in 1908, and it was the first time the team has ever clinched a postseason series at Wrigley. In 2003, the Cubs captured the NLDS in five games over the Braves on the road. The club's two World Series titles were also clinched on the road.
• The Cubs got home runs from 22-year-old Kyle Schwarber, 22-year-old Javier Baez and 26-year-old Anthony Rizzo in Tuesday's win. The 2015 postseason has seen 10 homers by players under the age of 24. Seven of the 10 homers came from the Cubs. Schwarber has three, Jorge Soler has two and Kris Bryant and Javier Baez each has one. The other three have come courtesy of Carlos Correa of the Astros, Michael Conforto of the Mets and Rougned Odor of the Rangers. The 10-homer mark this postseason is tied with last year for the most in history. The Cubs' seven homers by players under the age of 24 is already the most for any team in any postseason. Kyle Schwarber's three games with a homer tie him for the third-most in any postseason by a player younger than 24. Evan Longoria was 22-23 in 2008 when he hit five, and Miguel Cabrera homered in four games in '03 when he was 20.
Video: STL@CHC Gm4: Schwarber blasts 419-foot homer
• Stephen Piscotty hit a two-run home run for the Cardinals in the loss. The 24-year-old also homered in Games 1 and 3. He is the third Cardinal to be younger than 25 and to homer in at least three postseason games in the same year. As a 24-year-old in 2004, Albert Pujols homered in two games in the NLDS and in four games in the NLCS. In 2014, Kolten Wong homered in one game in the NLDS as a 23-year-old and then two games in the NLCS after turning 24.
• Clayton Kershaw delivered seven innings of one-run ball on Tuesday at Citi Field as the Dodgers defeated the Mets, 3-1, to force a winner-take-all Game 5 in the NLDS. Kershaw picked up his first postseason win since Game 1 of the 2013 NLDS, snapping a five-game losing streak. Kershaw also became the fifth Dodgers starter to win a potential elimination game on the road. He joined Johnny Podres, who did it in Game 7 of the 1955 World Series; Sandy Koufax, who did it in Game 7 of the '65 Fall Classic; Burt Hooton, who did it in Game 4 of the '81 NLCS; and Fernando Valenzuela, who did so in Game 5 of the '81 NLCS.
Video: LAD@NYM Gm4: Kershaw fans eight, holds Mets to one
• Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis had a single on Tuesday to extend his postseason hitting streak to a franchise-best 12 games. Ellis, who had been tied with Carl Crawford, is batting .385 during his streak. In postseason history, 28 other players have posted a streak of at least 12 games. The longest streak is 17 games, which the Yankees' Hank Bauer and Derek Jeter and Boston's Manny Ramirez achieved.