MLB Playoffs

The New York Mets' home run binge is a big reason why they're on course for the 2015 World Series. Second baseman Daniel Murphy has been leading the charge.

In Game 1 of the American League Championship Series, Edinson Volquez held on despite control problems to throw six innings of shutout ball. In Game 5 on Wednesday, the Toronto Blue Jays finally opened the floodgates.

Game 4 of the NLCS could be the last chance for the upstart Chicago Cubs and manager Joe Maddon.

But there is hope, at least for this game, and it has to do with the offense.

FINAL SCORE: Mets 8 - 3 Cubs

The New York Mets are moving on the World Series for the first time since 2000 after completing the sweep of the Chicago Cubs with an 8-3 victory in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series at Wrigley Field on Wednesday night.

After a string of MLB league division series that went down to the wire, the league championship series have offered a bit less competitive balance. With both series already featuring elimination games, let's take a look at some of the highlights and storylines that have defined these postseason matchups thus far.

ALCS: Kansas City Royals Lead Toronto Blue Jays, 3-1

After a suspense-filled division series, the two league championship series appear to be over at this point. The Kansas City Royals and New York Mets have respectively put the Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago Cubs against the wall, with history not looking kind for the two teams trailing. 

Wrigley Field was a haunted house for the Chicago Cubs in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series. Daniel Murphy of the New York Mets again played the ghoul. 

The Toronto Blue Jays need to have a short memory and a long memory when they take the field at the Rogers Centre Wednesday afternoon for Game 5 in the American League Championship Series.

They need to forget the beating they took in Game 4, as the Kansas City Royals bludgeoned them on their home field by a 14-2 margin after the Royals jumped to a 4-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back.

In baseball’s long history of epic playoff moments and fantastical series comebacks, only once has a team come back from an 0-3 deficit to win a series. The 2004 Boston Red Sox gave many a team hope in the toughest of situations, but replicating their magic is next to impossible.

Both the American League and National League Championship Series looked extremely close on paper following the division series, but they have been anything but that thus far.

The Kansas City Royals hold a 3-1 advantage over the Toronto Blue Jays entering play Wednesday, while the New York Mets are just one win away from sweeping the Chicago Cubs at 3-0. It doesn't take much to shift momentum in a series, though, which is why both are far from over.