Mets beat Arrieta, Cubs 4-1, take 2-0 series lead

By Matt Ehalt, The Record

A 2-0 series lead manifested itself in the span of three batters in 13 pitches during the first inning of Game 2 of the NLDS on Sunday night.

Three hits against a potential Cy Young Award winner gave the Mets an early three-run lead, one they held on to in moving within two wins of reaching the World Series.

The Mets pounced on Jake Arrieta early and received a strong outing from Noah Syndergaard to best the Cubs, 4-1, on Sunday. Daniel Murphy hit a two-run homer in the first to give the Mets a 3-0 lead, and Syndergaard threw 5 2/3 innings.

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Murphy has the most homers by any Mets in a single postseason, and the series now shifts to Wrigley Field for the next three games.

Armed with a 1-0 series lead, the Mets had to best Arrieta if they wanted to take a commanding series lead into Wrigley Field, and they did just that Sunday night.

The Mets scored just two runs in two starts spanning 16 innings against Arrieta in the regular season, but they topped that in a span of 13 pitches in the first.

On the fifth pitch of the game, Curtis Granderson found a hole in the shift on the right side of the infield, and he reached on a single to start the Mets’ night.

David Wright, who was 1-for-19 entering the game, followed by hitting a booming double to deep center on a 2-1 pitch to plate the game’s first run and give the Mets a 1-0 lead against Arrieta. It marked Wright’s first RBI since Game 1 of the NLDS.

Murphy, who homered in each of the previous three games, hooked a ball foul into the second deck in right field on the second pitch of the at-bat, but on the fourth pitch he evened out his swing and poked a two-run homer into right to give the Mets a 3-0 lead.

The second baseman homered on an 80 mph curveball.

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