LOS ANGELES — The New York Mets flipped the Hollywood script on Monday and evened the Nationwide League Championship Collection.
With six runs within the first two innings, the Mets got here out swinging in opposition to the beforehand unhittable Los Angeles Dodgers and received 7-3 in Sport 2 at Dodger Stadium. Francisco Lindor homered within the first inning, Mark Vientos hit a grand slam within the second, and Sean Manaea pitched 5 glorious innings — earlier than almost shedding it within the sixth — because the Mets tied the sequence at a recreation apiece heading into Sport 3 on Wednesday at Citi Discipline.
It was, aside from one-half inning, a near-perfect reversal of Sport 1 when the Dodgers took an early lead after which shut down their opponent’s most harmful hitters.
The Mets adopted that path in Sport 2. Lindor and Vientos have been as soon as once more the tone-setter and game-changer for his or her offense, and Manaea breezed via 5 innings earlier than operating into bother within the sixth. The bullpen restricted the harm and preserved the lead.
The Dodgers’ prime 5 hitters, all of them All-Stars this season, went 0-for-19 with 5 walks and 9 strikeouts, together with Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernández and Freddie Freeman in a row to finish the sport. The highest 5 Mets hitters had gone 0-for-17 with seven strikeouts in Sport 1. They went 7-for-22 with six RBIs and 5 runs scored in Sport 2.
Mets present their resilience
After a listless loss in Sport 1 by which they performed their worst recreation in weeks, the Mets wasted no time bouncing again.
The Mets had accomplished this so many instances earlier than. They usually adopted up brutal regular-season losses with inspiring wins. Their calling card in 2024 is resiliency.
They have an inclination to get again up.
The Mets wanted to make a fast assertion in Sport 2 and it was no shock that Lindor delivered with a tone-setting leadoff dwelling run. After fouling a ball off his leg, Lindor stepped again into the batter’s field and hammered a cutter to cap off an eight-pitch at-bat. There can be extra two-strike hits, one other key pattern for the Mets this postseason. Within the second inning, and down 0-2 within the rely, Tyrone Taylor hit an RBI double. Later within the inning, on the ninth pitch he noticed, Vientos continued his spectacular stretch with a grand slam to make it 6-0.
Contemplating Kodai Senga’s brutal outing Sunday, Manaea wanted to begin robust. He did simply that, opening his recreation with back-to-back strikeouts of Shohei Ohtani and Betts. The Mets began Senga on Sunday to present Manaea and Luis Severino (the Sport 3 starter) an additional day of relaxation, given the veterans’ excessive workloads. Manaea’s stable begin confirmed why the Mets thought it was a clever transfer.
By answering again of their acquainted method, the Mets return to Citi Discipline trying to flex extra of their beginning pitching over the subsequent two video games.
Dodgers’ bullpen recreation doesn’t repay
Going again to the effectively with a bullpen recreation in Sport 2 made loads of sense for the Dodgers. Their choices made it so a bullpen recreation was essential in one of many video games of this sequence, and doing it in Sport 2 — after Jack Flaherty’s seven innings in Sport 1, and with an off day on Tuesday — was logical.
The place it backfired wasn’t the primary inning, though Lindor led off the afternoon with a solo shot to cap off an eight-pitch at-bat in opposition to Ryan Brasier and halt the Dodgers’ scoreless innings streak at 33. The large bother got here afterward
Relatively than proceed to deploy high-leverage arms as they did in Sport 4 of the Nationwide League Division Collection, the Dodgers opted to attempt to steal some innings on the entrance finish with rookie Landon Knack. A five-run inning, capped off by a Vientos grand slam after an at-bat the place Knack left a number of pitches over the plate, sunk the Dodgers early.
The Dodgers are lacking a key leverage arm in Alex Vesia this sequence, which makes it harder to rely up the outs with strictly bullpen arms. Involving Knack in some vogue was at all times the plan. However solely getting two innings out of him made a 6-0 deficit all of the extra insurmountable in opposition to Sean Manaea.
Mets’ bullpen comes via at pivotal moments
The Mets’ two greatest bullpen acquisitions earlier than the commerce deadline have been Phil Maton and Ryne Stanek, two right-handers who coincidentally are good associates. They have been buy-low choices; Maton had a 4.58 ERA with the Tampa Bay Rays whereas Stanek gave the impression to be the odd man out of the Seattle Mariners’ bullpen. In each offers, the Mets took on cash (and parted with a minor-league outfielder within the case of Stanek) as a result of they believed within the observe information of each pitchers. The workforce thought each would assist down the stretch.
Quick ahead to the NLCS and Stanek and Maton are in acquainted spots. They’re again to being trusted setup choices late in video games. And on Monday, they each did their jobs when the Mets wanted them most.
Maton inherited a bases-loaded jam within the sixth inning, taking up for Manaea with no outs. He allowed a two-run single, however that was the extent of the harm. Stanek relieved Maton with one out and a runner on first base within the seventh inning. He struck out Betts after which obtained Hernández to floor out to finish the inning. Stanek then recorded two outs within the eighth inning earlier than permitting a single and a stroll. Edwin Díaz relieved him and obtained the ultimate out.
The Mets lack dependable bridge choices to Díaz, who has been shaky. They’ve accomplished an admirable job of hiding this blemish with good beginning pitching. However there will likely be different video games like Monday when the Mets don’t get as a lot size as they need. That’s once they need to lean on Stanek and Maton.
(High photograph of Mark Vientos’ grand slam: Kevork Djansezian / Getty Pictures))