Only two days into the championship series round, a couple of clubs have already made convincing statements as the 2015 MLB postseason carries forward into a new week.
So far, the biggest story revolves around the Kansas City Royals and their impressive start in the ALCS against Toronto. They've jumped out to a 2-0 series lead after taking care of business at home, while the New York Mets did the same out in the NL in Game 1.
It's been a fun start to the playoffs, but we're just getting started, and many memorable moments are to come. So let's take a look at what is coming up.
MLB Postseason Schedule
ALCS: Royals vs. Blue Jays
It's not wise to count these Royals out, no matter the deficit. They just continue to show their resiliency in situations when it looks like they're done for.
After making it out of the ALDS in that type of fashion, Kansas City continued its magic throughout the opening two games of this star-studded ALCS series. They were unable to solve David Price on the mound in Game 2—until rattling off a five-run seventh inning that pushed the Royals in front for good.
The Royals showed it once again—you can't mess up against them, as Don Van Natta Jr. of ESPN noted:
Kansas City just keeps coming up big in the clutch. In a span that includes being six outs away from elimination in the ALDS against Houston, the Royals have turned into comeback kids with their ability to battle back from multi-run deficits, per MLB:
During a stretch of their series with the Astros, it looked like the Royals' magic from 2014 had run out. But just when it seems wise to count them out, they battle back in resilient fashion and find a way to generate the runs needed.
The Blue Jays had the big bats coming into this series, but Kansas City's pitching has stymied them—three runs allowed over 18 innings—and given their offense just enough room to make things happen. Conditions will be very different in Toronto for Games 3 and 4, but it's hard to say the Royals aren't ready for the challenge.
NLCS: Mets vs. Cubs
Raise your hand if you had Daniel Murphy emerging as the biggest impact player of this postseason.
Nobody? That's what I thought.
The Mets' 30-year-old infielder is coming off making a bevy of huge plays in the NLDS, and he chose to keep it rolling to start the NLCS by jacking a first-inning home run to set the tone. Curtis Granderson followed it up with a two-RBI performance, giving New York enough firepower to take an early series lead over Chicago.
But while the bats helped, Matt Harvey's gem on the mound helped to seal the deal, as Baseball Tonight showed:
With top aces Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard unavailable due to their pitching in Game 5 of the ALDS, Harvey had the responsibility of slowing the Cubs' red-hot bats, and he succeeded.
As Cut4 showed, he even got in on the defense:
While there's a lot of baseball left to play, the Mets have to be elated with the start they have gotten in this NLCS. An early win against the Dodgers last round propelled them to a tight series victory, but this time they're hoping to make it a bit less nail-biting.
That will be easier said than done against a Cubs team that faced a similar deficit in the NLDS, only to rattle off the next three and advance as David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune noted:
The Cubs' bats got hot eventually against St. Louis last round, but the Cardinals don't boast the same type of shutdown pitching that the Mets have in their rotation. With Harvey setting the tone the way he did, the onus will now be on Chicago to change things up and get going offensively.
If they don't, this could quickly turn into a fast series.
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