TORONTO — Kansas City and the New York Mets both moved within one win of berths in the World Series after taking road victories Tuesday.
The Royals routed Toronto 14-2 to take a 3-1 series lead, with Ben Zobrist hitting a two-run homer off just the fourth pitch of the game from Blue Jays starter R.A. Dickey, and the visitors controlled the game throughout.
New York second baseman David Murphy hit a homer for the fifth straight game as the Mets won 5-2 at the Chicago Cubs to go up 3-0 in the NLCS.
The Royals, with the help of a two-run homer from Zobrist, scored four runs in the first inning then sealed the victory with a four-run seventh in the best-of-seven ALCS.
[caption id="attachment_8278" align="alignnone" width="600"]
Ben Zobrist (L) of the Kansas City Royals watches his throw over Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays for a double play in the sixth inning during Game 4 of the ALCS at Rogers Centre in Toronto Tuesday. — Reuters[/caption]
Game Five is in Toronto Wednesday.
“We feel good, we like the way we’re playing right now,” Royals manager Ned Yost told reporters. “Our offense has been really, really good.”
The Blue Jays, who won Monday’s Game Three, sent 40-year-old knuckleballer R.A. Dickey to the mound with hopes of tying the series.
But the former Cy Young Award winner gave up five runs in 1-2/3 innings that left Toronto in a 5-0 hole they could not overcome despite scoring two runs in the third and Australian reliever Liam Hendriks providing 4-1/3 innings of spotless relief to keep their comeback hopes alive.
But the Royals ended any chance of a rally roughing up 42-year-old LaTroy Hawkins, who came on in the seventh but failed to record an out and gave up three runs on two hits and then roughed up reliever Ryan Tepera for four runs on five hits.
The 3-0 margin has been overcome only once in Major League Baseball — by the Red Sox over the Yankees in 2004.
The do-or-die Game Four for the Cubs will be played in Chicago Wednesday. One more loss and their quest to end a 70-year absence from the World Series will end.
“The Mets have just pitched exceptionally well,” said Cubs manager Joe Maddon. “You’ve got to give them credit.”
DeGrom yielded four hits over seven innings with seven strikeouts and a walk, and retired his last 11 batters. Relievers Tyler Clippard and Jeurys Familia went the last two innings as rain began to fall in Chicago.
Home runs set the tone at Wrigley Field, with Murphy improving his remarkable stats sheet with a third-inning blast to center. It was his record-tying fifth postseason game in a row with a homer.
“I’ve watched a lot of baseball over the years and I don’t think I’ve seen anybody put on this kind of a show on this stage like he has done so far,” Mets manager Terry Collins said of Murphy, who hit a career-high 14 homers this season.
“The question is, who is this guy? He’s been unbelievable. Hopefully he just keeps it up for a few more games.”
Chicago rookies Jorge Soler and Kyle Schwarber also homered as the Cubs twice battled back from a run down to make it 2-2 through four innings. For Schwarber, it was his fifth homer of the playoffs.
After Soler’s home run in the fourth, deGrom turned unhittable as he set down 11 Cubs in a row.
Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks went four innings before manager Maddon went to his bullpen.
Starting in the sixth, the Mets took advantage of some breaks. Mets slugger Yoenis Cespedes, who earlier had stolen third base, dashed home when Michael Conforto swung at and missed a breaking ball in the dirt from reliever Trevor Cahill in the sixth inning with two out. But the ball bounced past Cubs catcher Miguel Montero, leaving both New York players safe.
The Mets added two more runs in the seventh off Travis Wood.
