Mets beat Cubs 4-2 in NLCS Game 1
CHICAGO (WLS) -- The New York Mets beat the Chicago Cubs 4-2 in the first game of the NL Championship Series in New York City Saturday night.
The Mets got out to an early lead and though the Cubs tied it up in the top of the fifth inning they were never quite able to catch up. That didn't stop Kyle Schwarber from knocking another ball out of the park in the eighth inning, but it wasn't quite enough. The teams face off again Sunday at 7:07 p.m. CT at Citi Field in New York.
Bars in Wrigleyville were packed with fans hanging on every pitch. The Cubby Bear was filled to capacity well before the game. Fans sat outside in the cold because there is no room inside, but they say they wouldn't want to be anywhere else.
"I wanna be with my Cubs fans. I want to be around them. It's fun, it's enjoyable, it supports, you know?" says Ida Rivera.
The Cubs' postseason run is a huge bonus for bar owners and souvenir vendors in Wrigleyville, but it creates some challenges for anyone planning a big event in the city at the same time the Cubs are playing.
At the Michigan Avenue gala for Mercy Homes for Boys and Girls, they made sure to bring in big screen TVs so guests could follow the game.
"It's been very good for our guests," says Mark Schmeltzer of Mercy Homes. "Like I said, they've been able to not feel that they're missing the game, or maybe even have to miss our event, or feel like they're torn."
Even though the Cubs couldn't pull ahead of the Mets tonight, fans are still feeling positive. After all, the St. Louis Cardinals took game one of the NLDS and look how that turned out.
PHOTOS: Chicago Cubs head to NYC for NLCS
PLACING THEIR BETS
New York mayor Bill deBlasio accepted Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel's bet of pizza, beer and a charitable donation Saturday afternoon.
Six Flags Great America and Six Flags Great Adventure have also agreed to a friendly wager, with the winner renaming its park for the remainder of Fright Fest.
If the Cubs win, Six Flags Great Adventure will rename their Kingda Ka roller coaster Kingda Cubs, and will rename the park Six Flags Great Cubs. If the Mets win, Six Flags Great America will rename the Goliath roller coaster GoMets and the park will be renamed Six Flags Great Mets.
A LONG HISTORY
Many longtime Cubs fans are even more excited to be playing the Mets in the NLCS given the history between the two teams.
The great Cubs collapse of 1969 is often linked to superstition and the black cat that walked in front of the Cubs dugout at New York's Shea Stadium during a game.
This time around, the Cubs will be looking across the field at a hometown Chicago hero. Curtis Granderson - who plays right field for the Mets - grew up in Lynwood and attended UIC, where he maintains strong connections.
"He comes here in the off season. He spends a lot of time working with the University of Illinois Chicago, his alma mater. He built the stadium there and he spends a lot of time doing workouts there for the university teams, and he does camps for Little League teams," said Mary Granderson, his mother.
Granderson donated $5 million to help build the stadium on campus that bears his name. His parents are in New York for this weekend's games and plan to be at Wrigley next week. They are Mets fans now, of course, but most of all, they are Curtis Granderson fans.
"We never set out to try and raise a baseball player. We just wanted to raise a good person. Fortunately, we were blessed to get both," Mary Granderson said.
Cubs fever stretches all the way to suburban Spring Grove, where a farmer has plowed the message "Go Cubs Go" into his field.
"After they won on Sunday, I said, 'I'm putting it out there.' The kids said, 'Dad, you gotta do this,'" said Jack Schmitt.
The 82-year-old lifelong Cubs fan created the design before the Cubs won the division series. Apparently, it's working.
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The Cubs return to Wrigley for Game 3 on Tuesday. Ticket prices for Game 3 are already skyrocketing.
NLCS Game 3 tickets on StubHub range from $450 to $10,000. Ticket sellers on the secondhand market are asking for, on average, roughly $1,300 a pop. Those are some of the highest playoff ticket prices in history.
CUBS NLCS SCHEDULE:
NLCS Game 1 - Saturday, Oct. 17 @ 7:07 p.m. CT
Cubs @ Mets
NLCS Game 2 - Sunday, Oct. 18 @ 7:07 p.m. CT
Cubs @ Mets
NLCS Game 3 - Tuesday, Oct. 20 @ 7:07 p.m. CT
Mets @ Cubs
NLCS Game 4 - Wednesday, Oct. 21 @ 7:07 p.m. CT
Mets @ Cubs
NLCS Game 5* - Thursday, Oct. 22 @ 7:07 p.m. CT
Mets @ Cubs
NLCS Game 6* - Saturday, Oct. 24
Cubs @ Mets
NLCS Game 7* - Sunday, Oct. 25
Cubs @ Mets
*if necessary
