CHICAGO — Get the foot down on time and bam.
That is the simple challenge for Lucas Duda and Wednesday night, the big man who was engulfed in a huge postseason slump, came through in a way that Terry Collins dreamed about.
Duda blasted a 420-foot three-run home run to center field in the first off Jason Hammel and then lined a two-run double to center in the second, sending the Mets to an 8-3 victory and a four-game sweep of the Cubs in the NLCS and onto the World Series for the first time since 2000.