Daniel Murphy sent yet another shot soaring over the wall and thrust his right arm in the air — he was in the record book, his Mets were headed to the World Series.
Alcides Escobar made his mark with a single, double, triple and bunt. That made him the first player to lead off four consecutive games in a postseason series with a hit, putting the Royals ahead in the ALCS.
For both, a charmed October.
Far from superstars or the highest-paid guys on their teams, Murphy and Escobar became the latest surprise sensations on baseball's biggest stages — joining past surprise heroes such as David Freese (2011) and Cody Ross (2010).