MLB

The New York Mets have a World Series championship in their sights, but the last thing they need to see is Yoenis Cespedes on the bench with a shoulder injury.

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The New York Mets cruised through the first three games of the National League Championship Series to take a 3-0 lead, and they opened Game 4 against the Chicago Cubs on the same note.

Lucas Duda hammered a two-out, three-run homer in the first inning to lift the Mets to an early lead. Then Travis d'Arnaud followed suit, driving a solo shot to right field to make it 4-0:

Marco Estrada had been put in this situation before. Just a little more than a week ago, in fact. 

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. 

Fact: The Cubs have followed three different three-game losing streaks this year with a winning streak of four or more games.

Bleacher Report will be bringing sports fans the most interesting and engaging Cold Hard Fact of the day, presented by Coors Light.

Source: BR_Insights