With new manager Joe Maddon and the great play of pitcher Jake Arrieta and hitters Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant, the Cubs experienced their best season since 2008 when they also won 97 games.

The New York Mets made their first playoff appearance since 2006 with help from their starting pitchers Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard as well the late season acquisition of hitter Yoenis Céspedes.

The next batter, Starlin Castro, jumped Harvey for a double that eluded the reach of Gold Glove winner Juan Lagares in center field that scored Rizzo and knotted the game at one.

Harvey would retire the following batter, Jorge Soler, on a groundout to third, forcing Castro to hold at second, but subsequently allowed a base hit to left by Javier Báez.

Once again with the lead Harvey would regain control and blank the Cubs in the top halves of the sixth and seventh, while the Mets would add runs off of Lester.

After Harvey sacrificed Lagares to second, the Met center fielder stole third with one out, setting up a Granderson sacrifice fly to make it a 4–1 game.

[8] Looking to rebound and tie the series, the Cubs turned to ace Jake Arrieta in a matchup against Mets rookie Noah Syndergaard.

[10] Hosting their first NLCS game at Wrigley Field in 12 years, the Cubs started Kyle Hendricks in an attempt to pick up their first win of the series.

Though Mets leadoff hitter Curtis Granderson reached base after an error by shortstop Javier Báez, he was caught stealing to negate the misplay.

The Cubs tied the game in the bottom half of the inning after a Kyle Schwarber opposite field home run off of Mets ace Jacob deGrom, but they too missed an opportunity to inflict further damage.

Anthony Rizzo and Starlin Castro hit back-to-back two-out singles off of deGrom, but Jorge Soler grounded out to end the threat with the game still tied at 1–1.

Daniel Murphy continued his historic hot streak with yet another home run, a shot to center field to give the Mets back the lead in the top of the third.

The struggling Lucas Duda, at that point just 3-for-23 in the postseason, attempted to bunt against the infield shift, but was thrown out at first for what was ruled a sacrifice, advancing Céspedes to second.

Bryant fielded the ball moving to his left but double-clutched before throwing to first, allowing Murphy to reach safely for an infield single as Wright advanced to third.

With the Mets up 5–2, deGrom shut the Cubs down with a perfect seventh inning, ending his night having only allowed four hits and two runs while striking out seven.

Lucas Duda, just 1-for-6 in the series in the first three games, launched a three-run home run to center field against Cubs starter Jason Hammel to get the Mets off to a fast start again.

[13] Matz held the Cubs hitless through three innings, but Chicago mounted its first rally in the bottom of the fourth, loading the bases with nobody out for Starlin Castro.

[14] In the bottom of the fifth inning, Matz looked as though he would retire the Cubs in order, but with two outs a Dexter Fowler fly ball dropped into shallow right field after a misplay by second baseman Daniel Murphy.

[16] By coincidence, the Cubs' 2015 season ended on the same day as the 2015 World Series that was depicted in the 1989 movie Back to the Future Part II.

The actual 2015 World Series saw the Mets lose to the Kansas City Royals in five games, but the Cubs went on to win the next season's edition, defeating the Cleveland Indians in seven.

Despite the World Series loss and losing Daniel Murphy in free agency, the team's young pitching staff led by Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz, and Matt Harvey was viewed as a promising core.

[18] The Mets returned to the postseason in 2016, but their appearance was brief, as they lost to the San Francisco Giants in the National League Wild Card Game.

Ironically, it was Zack Wheeler, another young promising starter from this core who missed all of 2015 with Tommy John Surgery, who had the healthiest and arguably most productive career going forward.