CHICAGO -- Game 4 of the National League Championship Series was no different for the Chicago Cubs than Games 1-3, just worse. Once again they were outplayed in all facets, beginning with the starting pitchers. The Cubs' Jason Hammel got just four outs while New York Mets rookie Steve Matz notched 14 in the 8-3 win. That discrepancy tells the story of the night, as do the four first-inning runs the Mets scored on back-to-back home runs by Lucas Duda and Travis d'Arnaud. It marked the fourth straight game the Mets scored in the first inning and the fourth game in a row in which they never trailed.
The Cubs made mistakes on defense again and allowed two more stolen bases as all four games resembled each other -- except the Mets' offense got better while the Cubs' stalled, ending their season in a sweep. They still haven't won an NLCS contest since Game 5 in 2003 against the Florida Marlins.
The player who will provide the Cubs with wintertime nightmares is Daniel Murphy. He homered in every game in the series, going 4-5 in the finale on Wednesday. His performance was the exclamation mark on a dominating performance by New York.
Thumbs up: The Cubs had a great regular season, wild-card game and then a dominating performance to oust the mighty St. Louis Cardinals in the division series, but that's where the good news came to an end.
Thumbs down: In Game 4 it goes to Hammel. Given the chance to keep the Cubs' season alive and earn some trust back, he gave up too many hittable pitches. He started out OK by getting David Wright swinging and then Murphy on a foul ball. But the Mets' lineup doesn't end there and he lost it over the next few batters.
For the series, the Cubs' offense gets a big thumbs down even though a lot of credit goes to the Mets' pitching staff. Still, the middle of the Cubs' order went quietly too many times over four games. At least in between making some outs Kyle Schwarber knocked a couple balls out of the park. Where were Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo's big moments? After a stellar series against the Cardinals at the plate, the Cubs' offense simply came up way short against the Mets.
What's next: The Cubs have some identifiable needs and a few questions to answer this winter. Starting pitching will be a priority, and not just because they were exposed in the postseason. They had near perfect health and still were caught shorthanded. They need legitimate top- to middle-of-the-rotations guys as well as some depth.
Center field could be in play with Dexter Fowler's upcoming free agency while questions behind the plate need to be answered. The bullpen might be the least fluid, though the Cubs will add more depth just as they need to in the rotation. This wasn't the end of a run, but just the beginning, despite the messy way the season ended.