Two championship-starved teams begin their best-of-7 series when the Cubs and Mets collide in Game 1 of the NLCS.

After ousting Pittsburgh in the NL Wild Card Game, Chicago defeated NL Central champion St. Louis to advance this far for the first time since 2003. New York, meanwhile, took out NL West champion Los Angeles in five games and plays in the NLCS for the first time since 2006.

Jon Lester (11-12, 3.34 ERA) takes the ball for the Cubs, while the Mets counter with Matt Harvey (13-8, 2.71)

Game Preview

Matchup: Cubs at Mets

Time: 8 p.m. ET

Venue: Citi Field, Queens, N.Y.

Radio: Chicago (WBBM 780); New York (WOR 710)

This game can be live streamed for free here.

Things To Know

--Lester is 0-1 in these playoffs with a 3.68 ERA and allowed five hits last time out against the Cardinals. Harvey is 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA and yielded seven hits while laboring against the Dodgers.

--This series marks a meeting between two teams that would seem like perfect trade partners. The Cubs boast great young hitting in the likes of Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber. The Mets have great a solid young core in starting pitching, including Jacob deGrom, Harvey, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz.

--The Cubs defeated the Mets in all seven regular season meetings this year, with the last game taking place on July 2. The Mets revamped their lineup since then, including the deadline addition of Yoenis Cespedes.