Baseball

NEW YORK — He took the mound to begin the series, determined to set a tone. He left the mound nearly eight innings later, with the fans chanting his name and his teammates ready to sing his praise.

Through their first five games, the Chicago Cubs made hitting in the postseason look easy. Maybe a little too easy.

As such, a reality check like the one the Cubs were dealt in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series was coming sooner or later. But given that it was the New York Mets who dealt it, the question now becomes whether the Cubs' bats will be able to recover.

David Price’s monkey was clinging to his back by its fingertips.

Shedding it could have meant so much to the ace on a personal level, and it would have meant the Toronto Blue Jays were back in the American League Championship Series rather than being half-buried by the Kansas City Royals.

Behind a star performance from Matt Harvey, Game 1 of the National League Championship Series belongs to the New York Mets.

Harvey electrified the Citi Field crowd, striking out nine in 7.2 innings, and pushed the Mets to a 4-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

He was backed by some power, including home runs from Daniel Murphy and Travis d’Arnaud. It was Murphy’s third in as many games and fourth in the postseason. Curtis Granderson also added two RBI out of the leadoff spot to propel the Mets to victory.

After a lifeless opener to start the series, the Toronto Blue Jays will turn to their rented ace, David Price, in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series against the Kansas City Royals. The Jays badly need a split before returning to the Rogers Centre on Monday night.

On the heels of an entertaining debut to the American League Championship Series, the Kansas City Royals and Toronto Blue Jays will get right back to it with another showdown at Kauffman Stadium for Game 2.

The dramatics brought by the opening rounds of Major League Baseball's postseason are a necessary appetizer, but nothing compares to the League Championship Series round.

Four teams remain, and each of them has the opportunity to punch its ticket to the World Series by stringing together four wins. Considering the long-suffering clubs still left standing at this point in October, we're guaranteed to have a special conclusion.

With all the hype surrounding the high-octane Toronto Blue Jays and their world-beating bats, the Kansas City Royals seemed to get swept under the rug a little bit heading into the American League Championship Series.

The World Series is still on the not-so-near horizon, as the 2015 MLB postseason is only one game into the championship series round. So, it'll be a while before we have a clear picture of October's biggest stars.

But whatever. With 20 games in the books, I'd say we've gone far enough to dish out some props to the postseason stars who are deserving of some props. Wouldn't you? Of course you would.

It's up to David Price to stop the Toronto Blue Jays from tumbling into yet another 0-2 hole.

While the American League East champs will be calling on the October underachiever in Game 2 of the AL Championship Series, Yordano Ventura gets the nod for the Royals as the home team looks to claim a commanding lead at Kauffman Stadium.

The biggest key to this Game 2 matchup will be Price's performance, but the Jays will also need some help on the health front if the visitors are going to earn a split before heading north of the border.