In this old ballpark where even the outfield ivy has taken on a role, the weight of history is now on the Mets’ side. Their 5-2 win over the Cubs in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series on Tuesday at Wrigley Field gave them a 3-0 series lead, moving the Mets to within one victory of their fifth NL pennant and their first World Series appearance since 2000.

Here’s a closer look at the top NLCS and ALCS plays from Tuesday, courtesy of Statcast™.

The team Steven Matz grew up rooting for from his Long Island childhood home about 50 miles east of Citi Field will take the field on Wednesday on the precipice of its first World Series berth since 2000 following a 5-2 victory over the Cubs in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series.

A change of setting did nothing to cool down Daniel Murphy or Yoenis Cespedes, but it did spark David Wright. And together the two-, three-, and four-hole hitters keyed the Mets to a 5-2 victory on Tuesday that boosted New York’s lead in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series to 3-0.

Well, at least the Cubs put Quintin Berry on their roster. They’re going to need him to morph into Dave Roberts, circa 2004, for them to dig themselves out of this 3-0 hole in the National League Championship Series. That would be the Theo Epstein daily double. But even if Epstein’s Red Sox did escape from that hole against the Yankees 11 years ago, it’s got to be hard for the Cubs to see the World Series as anything except a tiny dot slipping beyond the horizon after Tuesday night’s 5-2 loss in Game 3.

Three times in his career, including this season, Jason Hammel has been part of postseason teams that finished in last place the year before. The secret, he suggested Tuesday, is a healthy dose of youthful bliss.

Rookie Michael Conforto acknowledges that the moment sped up on him. Seeing Yoenis Cespedes on third and having an opportunity to drive in the go-ahead run with two outs off reliever Trevor Cahill, Conforto whiffed at three Cahill curves. The sequence got the run home anyway.

Momentarily silenced by a Mets rally in the top of the first inning on Tuesday night, Wrigley Field was rocking again when rookie Kyle Schwarber smacked a record-setting home run in the Cubs’ 5-2 loss.

Despite using six relievers across five innings Tuesday, Cubs manager Joe Maddon isn’t limiting anybody in his bullpen from pitching in Wednesday’s elimination game in the National League Championship Series.

Another October night, another Mets pitcher the Cubs could not effectively hit. And now, the New Yorkers are one victory away from the World Series.

Consider what Jacob deGrom’s pitching line in Tuesday night’s Game 3 of the National League Championship Series would have looked like with the first inning removed: six innings, one run, one hit, one walk and six strikeouts, all on 71 pitches — an average of fewer than 12 per inning.

Here are the top GIFs from the Royals’ 14-2 win over the Blue Jays in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series and the Mets’ 5-2 win over the Cubs in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, courtesy of @MLBGIFs.

Here’s a look at 10 of the top facts and figures from Tuesday’s NLCS clash.

The Blue Jays won three straight elimination games to advance to the American League Championship Series, and now they’ll have to do it again to reach the World Series. Step one for Toronto is Game 5 against the Royals on Wednesday at Rogers Centre.

The Royals are one win from going to the World Series for the second consecutive year after putting a stranglehold on the American League Championship Series with another victory over the Blue Jays. Ben Zobrist and Alex Rios homered for Kansas City, which scored early and often for a 14-2 victory in Game 4 at Rogers Centre on Tuesday.

Royals general manager Dayton Moore might not have grabbed offseason headlines, but he took care of business, finding the right pieces to fill the right holes. Then at the Trade Deadline, he made all the right moves and now has Kansas City a win away from a return trip to the World Series.

The Blue Jays are feeling a sense of deja vu as they deal with yet another do-or-die scenario that will require three consecutive wins to survive.