Daniel Murphy homered in his record sixth straight postseason game and the New York Mets reached the World Series for the first time in 15 years, beating the Chicago Cubs 8-3 Wednesday night for a playoff sweep.
Manager Terry Collins' team never trailed for a single inning in taking all four games in the NL Championship Series.
New York, seeking its first title since 1986, will play Game 1 of the World Series at either Kansas City or Toronto on Tuesday night. The Royals lead the AL Championship Series 3-2.
Murphy broke the postseason mark set by Houston's Carlos Beltran in 2004 with a two-run drive in the eighth inning.
Lucas Duda homered and drove in five runs. Travis d'Arnaud also connected as the Mets advanced to their first World Series since 2000.
Kris Bryant homered for Chicago, but a championship drought dating to 1908 continues. Joe Maddon's young team had many believing this might be the year, but the Cubs did little against the Mets' fresh aces.
>>Murphy Named NLCS MVP
Wednesday night at Wrigley Field, the Mets clinched the 2015 NL pennant with their Game 4 win over the Cubs (NYM 8, CHC 3). New York swept the best-of-seven series. They'll play either the Blue Jays or Royals in the World Series beginning next week.
To the surprise of no one, Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy was named the series' Most Valuable Player. He had an incredible series, going 9 for 17 (.529) with four home runs in the four games. Murphy has gone deep in six straight games dating back to the NLDS.
In nine postseason games overall, Murphy has gone 16 for 38 (.421) with seven home runs. He went 4 for 5 with a home run in the Game 4 win over the Cubs.
>>Toronto Forces Game Six With Wednesday Win
Marco Estrada pitched one-hit ball into the eighth inning, giving Toronto's tattered bullpen a rest and leading the Blue Jays over the Kansas City Royals 7-1 Wednesday to close to 3-2 in the American League Championship Series.
Troy Tulowitzki broke open the game with a three-run double off Kelvin Herrera in the sixth, giving him seven RBIs in the series. Edwin Encarnacion had walked with the bases loaded against Edinson Volquez, who seemed flustered by close calls against the Royals.
Estrada faced the minimum 20 batters before Lorenzo Cain walked with two outs in the sixth. Closer Roberto Osuna was perfect in the ninth.
Toronto forced the series back to Kansas City, where Yordano Ventura will start for the defending AL champions on Friday against David Price.
