The New York Mets were looking to take a commanding 2-0 lead over the Chicago Cubs in game two of the NLCS at Citi Field in Flushing, NY before the series heads to Chicago.

This was a great pitchers duel with a youngster on the mound for the Mets taking on an NL Cy Young candidate for the Cubs. Even though things are heating up in the series, it was a cool, crisp October night in New York.

Noah Syndergaard took the hill for the Mets and turned in a great outing as he contained the high octane offense of the Cubs. Syndergaard went 5.2 innings giving up just one run on three hits while striking out nine and walking one on 101 pitches. He continued his dominance in the postseason by becoming the youngest pitcher in baseball history to have at least nine strikeouts in multiple games during a single postseason.

As for the Cubs, Jake Arrieta took the hill and struggled for his second straight start in the postseason. He lasted just five innings giving up four runs on four hits while striking out eight and walking two batters on 94 pitches.

The Mets offense jumped on Arrieta right off of the bat in the first inning before he could even record an out. David Wright started it off with an RBI double to center scoring Curtis Granderson which was followed by a Daniel Murphy two-run blast. Through three batters, New York had opened a 3-0 lead on the Cubs' ace.

Citi Field was hopping and the Cubs weren't quite sure what hit them, especially with Arrieta on the mound.

Granderson kept the Mets crowd on their feet in the top of the second inning after a three-run first when he robbed Chris Coghlan of a solo home run.

Curtis Granderson robbing Chris Coghlan of a solo home run in the second inning -- Al Bello/Getty Images

New York added another run in the third inning as Yoenis Cespedes hit an infield single deep in the hole at shortstop to score Granderson which gave the Mets a 4-0 lead.

The Cubs weren't going down without a fight as they finally cracked the scoreboard in the sixth inning when Kris Bryant came up with a clutch two out double to left field to score Dexter Fowler and finally, the Cubs were on the scoreboard as they cut the deficit to 4-1. That was Syndergaard's final batter of the night before he was relieved by Jon Niese who got Anthony Rizzo to strikeout to end the sixth.

In the ninth inning, the Mets brought on Jeurys Familia to preserve the win and he faced the heart of the Cubs order of Bryant, Rizzo, and Castro. Familia brushed aside a Rizzo infield hit for a low stress ninth inning as the Mets extended their series lead to 2-0.

Jeurys Familia and Daniel Murphy celebrates after their 4-1 victory over the Cubs, leading the series 2-0 -- Elsa/Getty Images

The Cubs offense really struggled to get things going as they tallied just five hits with one extra base hit. The Mets tallied five hits as well, but the two extra base hits were the difference in the ballgame.

With the Mets holding a 2-0 series lead, the series now shifts to Wrigley Field in Chicago for games three through five.

Game three takes place on Tuesday night as the Mets will send Jacob deGrom to the hill to face off against Kyle Hendricks for the Cubs.

WP: Noah Syndergaard

LP: Jake Arrieta

SV: Jeurys Familia

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About the author
Josh Eastern
I live in Seattle, Washington and attend Indiana University as a journalism major. You can follow me on Twitter (@JoshEastern) and feel free to email me at [email protected] with any questions/thoughts.