Oct. 21--From a confidence standpoint, the Mets continue to talk and play a good game.
After wins in the first three games of the National League Championship Series, Mets manager Terry Collins can't help but bask in the postseason success of his hottest hitter, Daniel Murphy.
"I've watched a lot of baseball over the years. I don't think I've seen anybody put on this kind of a show on this stage like (Murphy) has so far," Collins said after Tuesday night's 5-2 victory over the Cubs. "I mean, even the guys in the dugout, they're baseball guys too and they're saying the same thing."
Murphy carried on his hot hitting in the third inning, blasting a home run to center to give the Mets a 2-1 lead. Murphy homered in his fifth straight postseason game, tying the 2004 record of the Astros' Carlos Beltan.
"I try not to think about it too much. You feel good in there," Murphy said of his streak. "You see what David (Wright) did tonight (three hits) and the way he swung the bat. And the way (Yoenis) Cespedes is swinging the bat behind me. I know I am in the best possible spot in the lineup between those two guys."
Collins felt certain that the momentum from the Mets' first two victories in New York would carry over into Wrigley Field this week.
"Yeah, that's a huge -- that's a great word to use, there is momentum, and it carries on," Collins said.
"Guys at this level, when they're hot, they stay hot for a while. The focus, the energy level ... the fatigue is not a factor in the postseason necessarily, even though it's October baseball. We have enough days off to get some rest."
The Cubs weren't the only ones looking forward to turning on the power with the series shifting to Wrigley Field.
"Pretty much throughout the lineup, we can do some damage," Collins said. "It's very similar to the Cubs. We have power too. You look at our power numbers from Aug. 1 on, we're dangerous."
With a warm breeze blowing out, hitters from both teams eagerly were awaiting a shot at the long ball.
"When your lineup is based on power, you have to be careful running yourself out of innings," Collins said. "At Wrigley Field, you better be careful running too much because you can hit a three-run homer in a second."
fmitchell@tribpub.com
