CHICAGO On Wednesday night, the Mets scored early, and starting pitcher Steven Matz kept the Cubs from scoring often. Then their relievers took care of the rest, getting big outs every time they needed big outs. Oh, and .

Sounds familiar, eh?

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The Mets used that simple-yet-effective formula for the fourth game in a row and got the same result Joe Morgan Jersey for the fourth game in a row, completing a four-game National League Championship Series sweep with an 8-3 victory over a Cubs team that was thwarted in its attempt to win a World Series for the first time since 1908.

Cliff Pennington Jersey By contrast, the Mets are World Series regulars, but only when compared to some. The Mets have only been to the World Series once since winning in 1986 (they lost to the rival Yankees in 2000). Their only other championship came in 1969, when they stunned the baseball world by winning 100 games (after winning only 73 the year before) and beating the Orioles in October.

These Mets are crafting a stunning story of their own.

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This is a team that Boog Powell Jersey was pretty miserable offensively and had trouble finding any consistency for the first half of the season. After a hot start they were 13-3 through 16 games they fell below .500 for the season by the end of June.

They were still muddling around .500 at Ramon Laureano Jersey the end of July, too, but because their division (the NL East) was so thoroughly mediocre, they were in the playoff race.

Their trade-deadline acquisitions have been well-documented Yoenis Cespedes, Tyler Clippard, Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe and for good reason. Those arrivals helped energize Chris Bassitt Jersey a team and a fan base again, and the Mets were one of baseballs best teams from then on.

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From Aug. 1 through the end of the season, the Mets went 37-22 and won their division title by seven games over the Nationals. They beat the Dodgers in five games in the NLDS and swept the Cubs.

Not only did they sweep the Cubs, but they never trailed all series. Thats pretty rare.

Matt Joyce Jersey

Best-of-7 "annihilations," MLB history: 1963 (LA over NYY), 1966 (BAL/LA), 1989 (OAK/SF), 2004 (BOS/STL) World Series, 2012 ALCS (Det/NYY).

Tyler Kepner (@TylerKepner)

At this point in an already unforgettable postseason, nothing the Mets do is very surprising, though.