2015 National League Championship Series

Background

The Chicago Cubs finished the 2015 season with a 97–65 record, their best since 2008. Under new manager Joe Maddon and with strong performances from Jake Arrieta, Anthony Rizzo, and Kris Bryant, the Cubs placed third in the National League Central. They earned the second Wild Card bid and defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 4–0 in the Wild Card Game, then beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3–1 in the NLDS. This was the Cubs' first postseason series win at Wrigley Field and their first NLCS appearance since 2003.

The New York Mets made their first playoff appearance since 2006, led by pitchers Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, and Noah Syndergaard, plus hitter Yoenis Céspedes. The Mets won the National League East with a 90–72 record and defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games in the NLDS. During the regular season, the Cubs won all seven games against the Mets.

Game summaries

In Game 1, the Cubs started Jon Lester and the Mets countered with Matt Harvey. Daniel Murphy homered in the first inning off Lester. Harvey pitched four perfect innings before hitting Anthony Rizzo with a fastball.

Starlin Castro doubled to score Rizzo, tying the game at one. After a single by Javier Báez, Yoenis Céspedes threw out Castro at the plate to end the threat. In the fifth, Wilmer Flores and Juan Lagares singled, and Harvey bunted toward first baseman Rizzo, who forced Flores at third. Kris Bryant fumbled a potential double-play throw, allowing the inning to continue.

Curtis Granderson then singled to score Lagares, giving the Mets a 2–1 lead. Travis d'Arnaud homered in the sixth, and a Lagares steal and Granderson sacrifice fly in the seventh made it 4–1. Harvey held the Cubs scoreless after the fourth inning, and the Mets won Game 1.

Aftermath

The Mets advanced to the World Series for the first time since 2000, losing to the Kansas City Royals in five games. Despite losing Daniel Murphy to free agency, the Mets' young pitching staff of deGrom, Syndergaard, Steven Matz, and Harvey was viewed as a promising core. The Mets returned to the postseason in 2016 but lost to the San Francisco Giants in the Wild Card Game. Injuries and underperformance later plagued the rotation: Harvey was traded to the Cincinnati Reds, while Syndergaard and deGrom battled setbacks, and Matz dealt with inconsistency. deGrom won back-to-back Cy Young Awards in 2018 and 2019.

Zack Wheeler, who missed 2015 with Tommy John surgery, had the healthiest career of the group. The 2016 Wild Card Game was the Mets' last postseason game under the Wilpon family; Steve Cohen purchased the team in 2020.

The Cubs bounced back in 2016, winning 103 games and their first World Series title in 108 years, defeating the Cleveland Indians in seven games. They reached the NLCS again in 2017. In 2021, the Cubs traded core players Bryant, Rizzo, and Báez in a major rebuild.