The Dodgers defeated the Blue Jays 3-1 in Game 6 of the World Series, forcing a winner-take-all Game 7. The Blue Jays had a chance to tie or win with runners on second and third and no outs in the ninth inning, but Tyler Glasnow relieved Roki Sasaki and didn’t let a run across. Game 7, the first in a World Series since 2019 between the Nationals and Astros, will begin at 8:00 p.m. ET Saturday night.

Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

Latest Mets News

Mets prospect Nick Morabito went 1-for-4 with a walk, a stolen base and a run in Friday’s Arizona Fall League action. Chris Suero went 0-for-3 with a walk and a run.

Latest MLB News

The Nationals officially announced that they have hired Blake Butera to be their next manager.

Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux is leaving the team to join the Angels. Maddux has been lauded in recent years for his work with Texas’ pitching staff, and he will now be an important member of the Angels’ coaching staff under new manager Kurt Suzuki.

Former major leaguer Yoervis Medina passed away on Friday at the age of 37 due to a heart attack that led to a car crash. Medina pitched for the Mariners and Cubs and had a career 3.08 ERA in 146 big league appearances.

Latest on MMO

In our latest 2025 Report Card, David Melendi grades Brandon Sproat‘s season.

Eitan Hein profiles starter Michael Soroka as a potential free agent target for the Mets.

John Wilson analyzes the uptick in stolen bases for Juan Soto in 2025.

On This Date in Mets History

2015: The Royals defeated the Mets 7-2 in 12 innings in Game 5 of the World Series to clinch their first championship since 1985. The Mets blew the game in the ninth, after Matt Harvey insisted on staying in the game, and could not pull it out in extras.

2019: The Mets hired Carlos Beltrán to be their next manager. Beltrán never managed a game, having been fired before the season even started due to the break of the Astros cheating scandal.

Born on This Date: Eric Hanhold (1993), José Moreno (1957).

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Against the Dodgers Saturday, Peterson matched his previous career-high at the aforementioned 7 2/3 innings. Peterson struck out seven, allowed two runs on five hits, and walked only two. He did all that on only 99 pitches, and punctuated his outing by striking out superstar Shohei Ohtani for a third time on the night, which turned the contest over to Edwin Díaz for the remaining four outs.

Entering Saturday’s game, the Dodgers were top three in virtually every offensive category in the big leagues. Specifically, against left-handed pitching, Los Angeles owned the third-best wRC+ and ranked third in team OPS. With a lineup headed by superstars in Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman, it is by far the deepest lineup in the big leagues.

Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

All this did not matter to Peterson, though, who quieted the Dodgers’ big guns. The big three in the Los Angeles lineup (Ohtani, Betts, and Freeman) combined to go 1-for-10 with three strikeouts. As mentioned above, all three of those strikeouts came against Ohtani. In his career, the Japanese superstar is now 2-for-11 against Peterson, with no extra-base hits and four strikeouts.

As far as the larger picture goes, Peterson was at his best because he was doing exactly what his game is built upon: generating ground balls. In the 5-2 Mets’ victory, Peterson induced 12 ground balls and got three ground ball double plays. That performance improved a ground ball rate, that entering Saturday, ranked in the league’s 92nd percentile at 57%.

On the season now, the 29-year-old Peterson owns a 2.79 ERA through 10 starts. In nine of those 10 starts, the former Oregon Duck has allowed two runs 0r fewer. After a tremendous 2024, Peterson is at it once again in 2025, though, with even better underlying metrics.

The post David Peterson Dominates Elite Dodgers Lineup In Much-Needed Victory appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

The Post obtained a letter from a league official to those fans, saying in part, “Your conduct posed a serious risk to the health and safety of the player and went far over the line of acceptable fan behavior. Based on your conduct, Major League Baseball is banning you indefinitely from all MLB stadiums, offices, and other facilities.”

The play happened during the first inning when Betts reached into the stands in foul territory to catch a fly ball hit by New York second baseman Gleyber Torres. Just as Betts jumped to make the play, one fan pried open his glove to rip the ball out, while the other grabbed Betts’ right wrist to prevent him from securing the baseball. The umpiring crew immediately signaled fan interference and called Torres out. The two fans were then ejected and banned from attending Game 5.

The play conjured memories of “The Jeffrey Maier Game”, which occurred during Game 1 of the 1996 ALCS when Derek Jeter hit a ball to the right field fence. Baltimore Orioles right fielder Tony Tarasco appeared to have settled beneath it, but Maier, a 12-year-old-fan, reached over the fence and prevented him from making the play. The umpires ruled it a home run as opposed to fan interference, and the Yankees went on the win both the game and the series, sparking their dynastic run.

The tickets used by the now-banned fans belonged to an unrelated season-ticket holder, who was not in attendance and will be allowed to keep their seats. That individual was said to have supported MLB’s decision, according to The Post’s story.

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Scott Boras had his annual appearance where he fielded questions from reporters on his clients during this free agency period, and the Boras zingers were out in full force. While the super agent made sure to pump up his clients, there were a lot of Mets related reports to come from his rebuttals. One being on Juan Soto, as Boras mentioned that Soto will go through a “thorough process” while mentioning that the Mets have been very aggressive in the Soto market.

Scott pulled out one of his classic one-liners in regards to Pete Alonso‘s free agent market: “We hear a lot about the bare market for power-hitting first basemen. For Pete’s sake, it’s the polar opposite.” Along with Alonso, Boras also commented on Sean Manaea‘s market, which he said is very vast and that the LHP has many suitors.

For more on Boras’ comments, click here!

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Latest Mets News

David Stearns talked to reporters and addressed many topics, while praising Steve Cohen’s willingness to invest in the club. Click here for more on Stearns’ comments.

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns also told reporters that he went to Japan to scout pending free agent Roki Sasaki in September. Click here for more on that news. 

The Mets agreed to terms with RHP Rico Garcia on a minor league deal with an invite to MLB camp, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Garcia had 20 saves in the International League for the Nationals organization last season, which led the league.

Baseball America released their top 10 Mets prospects for 2025, headlined by Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat.

The Mets have several minor league free agents, including OF DJ Stewart and 1B/3B Mike Brosseau, per Baseball America.

Latest MLB News

The Seattle Mariners are among teams that have closely evaluated Hye-seong Kim who will be posted from the Kiwoom Heroes of the KBO this off-season, per Jon Morosi of MLB Network. He had an .841 OPS with 30 SB in his age 25 season.

The Los Angeles Angels agreed to a one-year deal with longtime Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks, per Bruce Levine of 670 The Score.

Boras told reporters that his client and Astros third baseman Alex Bregman had a bone chip removed from his throwing elbow and should be back swinging in a couple of weeks, per Chandler Rome of The Athletic. The free agent should be good to go for spring training. 

The San Diego Padres agreed to a two-year extension through 2027 with manger Mike Shildt, who made the playoffs in his first year in San Diego.

The Cleveland Guardians and catcher Austin Hedges agreed on a one-year contract to bring him back with the club, per Jeff Passan of ESPN.

Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras will be moving to first base after spending most of his career behind the plate, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN.

The Houston Astros have had internal discussions around the possibility of trading setup man Ryan Pressly, per Chandler Rome of The Athletic. Pressly lost his closer job to Josh Hader, who secured a $95 million contract with Houston last offseason, and will be making $14 million in 2025.

Former MVP Mookie Betts and three-time World Series champ is expected to be moved back to the infield for the 2025 season, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

Brewers free agent shortstop Willy Adames is willing to move from his shortstop position if the right offer from a competitive club came around, per Will Sammon and Katie Woo of The Athletic. Other reports have said the Mets could move Adames to third, while other teams have thought of moving him to second base.

Jon Heyman reported that Juan Soto has been reached out to by the Mets, Yankees, Dodgers, Rays, Blue Jays, Red Sox, and Giants, per a Bleacher Report live stream.

Latest on MMO

Scott Boras speaks on free agent market.

Get to know possible Mets free agent target Tim Hill.

Take a look at what grade MMO gave Jose Quintana for his 2024 season.

On This Date in Mets History

2012: The Mets and Jason Bay come to an agreement to terminate the outfielder’s contract a year early. Bay only hit .239 in his three seasons in Queens after signing a four-year, $66 million deal.

Born On This Date: Dick Stuart (1932), Orlando Mercado (1961), Andy Tomberlin (1966), Glendon Rusch (1974), Kris Benson (1974), Willie Collazo (1979).

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The Los Angeles Dodgers are your 2024 World Series Champions.

On Wednesday night, MLB crowned their champs, as the Dodgers finished off the New York Yankees in five games to become World Series champions. The Yankees jumped out to an early 5-0 lead with their ace Gerrit Cole on the mound, nearly assuring them a trip back to L.A. However, a calamity of errors in the fifth inning let in five unearned runs for the Dodgers, knotting the game back up at five apiece. While the Yankees took a 6-5 lead, the Dodgers offense would scratch off another two runs in the eighth. Blake Treinen and Walker Buehler combined for 10 outs and subsequently secured a celebration in the Bronx.

Freddie Freeman took home World Series MVP after homering in the first four games of the series.

The Dodgers, who have been the class of the National League for the past decade, look to be just getting started as they will have many key pieces returning next year. Los Angeles put its money where its mouth is, dishing out over $1 billion in contracts this past offseason, now other teams will have to rebut.

While the Mets fell short, another exciting offseason should be on tap, as the Mets and the rest of MLB look to catch the Dodgers.

Let the Juan Soto rumors begin! After the Yankees loss, the superstar outfielder said he was open to signing with any team. Free agency officially begins at 9 a.m. ET today but players cannot sign with new teams until Nov. 4.

Latest Mets News

Mets VP of Scouting, Kris Gross, joined the Over-Slot MLB Draft Podcast to give insight to the Mets’ farm system happenings.

Mark Vientos wrote a Players’ Tribune article, titled “A Letter to Mets Fans.” In the message, Vientos thanked the Mets for the electricity they brought all year, mentioning how “it feels like I was born to be a New York Met.” Mark also added how he feels like something special is building in Queens.

Jon Heyman of the NY Post reported that if the Yankees can’t sign Juan Soto this offseason, then Pete Alonso, alongside some starting pitching, could be their plan of attack in free agency.

Latest MLB News

After the Dodgers’ celebration, L.A. pitcher Daniel Hudson said he’s calling it a career.

Former Mets draft pick Anthony Kay pitched seven innings of shutout ball in Game 4 of the NPB Japan Series. This outing helped tie the series between the BayStars and the SoftBank Hawks at two games apiece.

The Cincinnati Reds and MLB are mourning the loss of Reds Hall of Fame pitcher Joey Jay. He was 89 years old.

The Yankees and Major League Baseball banned the two fans who interfered with Mookie Betts from attending Game 5 of the World Series on Wednesday night, refunding them for their tickets. The Yankees were then able to give those tickets to Calvin Young, a 15-year-old cancer patient, and his family, per Jorge Castillo of ESPN.

Latest on MMO

A pair of interfering Yankee fans were banned from game 5.

MMO grades David Peterson‘s breakout season!

Steve Cohen is leading the Mets down a new path.

On This Date in Mets History

2015: Michael Conforto becomes the second Met to hit two home runs in a World Series game. Doing so in Game 4 of the Fall Classic, Conforto joined Gary Carter as the only two Mets to do it.

Born on This Date: Steve Trachsel (1970), Tim Byrdak (1973).

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Austin Capobianco successfully pried the ball out of Betts’ glove after he made a catch in foul territory and John Peter grabbed Betts’ throwing hand by the wrist. Gleyber Torres, who hit the ball, was ruled out because of fan interference.

The fans were ejected for what the Yankees called “egregious and unacceptable physical contact” in the statement.

“The safety and security of players, fans and Stadium staff is the foundational element of every event held at Yankee Stadium, and it cannot be compromised,” the statement said.

It was not clear if the fans would face more penalties.

“When it comes to the person in play, it doesn’t matter,” Betts said about the incident after the game. “We lost. It’s irrelevant. I’m fine. He’s fine. Everything’s cool. We lost the game and that’s what I’m kind of focused on.”

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Well, it should, as this team has faced adversity and walked on the edge since the start of September. They survived the second-half surge of the Diamondbacks, the terrifying doubleheader in Atlanta, and a ninth inning in Game 3 where they trailed 2-0 facing Devin Williams.

It’s been unlikely win after unlikely win. And Friday was no different. After scoring two runs in two games against the Dodgers in Games 3 and 4, the offense exploded for 12 runs in a must-win game.

Pete Alonso set the tone with a three-run homer in the first, Starling Marte became the first Met to record three doubles in a playoff game, and David Peterson and the bullpen did just enough to hold the Dodgers to six runs. This including a decisive moment between Reed Garrett and Freddie Freeman that resulted in a bases-loaded strikeout.

It was exhilarating for a team that has had a season’s worth of moments in a week-and-a-half span. It got the Mets back on a plane, heading toward Los Angeles to face the Dodgers for yet another do-or-die game.

This Mets team continues to prevail. Despite all the anxiety-provoking wins and edge-walking moments. It’s shocking. And leaves most with the thought, “Can they really do it again?”

There’s no reason to believe they can’t, as the Mets have recently been on the positive side in deciding games. The fans have to believe, which is something Francisco Lindor told fans they ought to do before and after their Game 5 win.

Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Pitching Matchups For Games 6 and 7

The table is set for the Mets to do the unlikely again. So hold on to your seats. Sean Manaea is on the bump for Game 6, facing the Dodgers again in California after allowing two earned runs across five innings pitched in the Game 3 win.

Then, the Mets will have multiple options for what should be an all-hands-on-deck effort in Game 7. Luis Severino and Kodai Senga would be on full rest, and you’d have to assume Peterson would be available in some capacity after throwing 79 pitches Friday.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers aren’t as blessed on the other side. Game 6 will be a bullpen game, which ended in the Mets scoring seven runs in Game 3. If a Game 7 were to be played, Walker Buehler would get another crack at the Mets after he turned in a vintage start in Game 4.

Matchups should favor the Mets these final two games. But it won’t be easy getting through the Dodgers’ lineup. Los Angeles has scored a combined 36 runs in five games against the Mets, averaging 7.2 runs per game.

Shohei Ohtani has particularly killed the Mets, slashing .333/.538/.667 with two homers and eight walks through five games. Tommy Edman has also been a thorn in the side of Mets, batting .409 in the series thus far.

If the Mets are to stifle the Dodgers’ offense, it’s going to have to start with the walks. The Dodgers have walked an astounding 36 times this series, including a 31 walks through four games, the most in any four-game stretch in postseason history.

That’s easier said than done against a Dodgers lineup with the likely National League MVP who is then followed by former MVPs in Mookie Betts and Freeman.

Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Top of the Order Needs to Mash

These games will likely come down to the Mets’ offense, which has been hot or cold this whole series. They were shut out in Game 1 and 3, scored two runs in Game 4, and then 19 runs between Game 2 and 5. It’s been sporadic. And they need to channel it to make the World Series.

Lindor especially comes to mind. The shortstop went 2-for-4 with a triple in Game 5 and led off Game 2 with a home run, but has gone 3-for-13 outside those at-bats. He’s been the catalyst all season long, and the Mets need him to stay hot for these final two games.

Following him are Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo. Alonso had the big homer Friday, but has only slashed .222/.391/.389 in the NLCS. It’s hard to get on Nimmo due to his plantar fasciitis, but the left-handed bat has been a hole in the middle of the order,  slashing .211/.318/.211 with zero extra-base hits.

The final question mark is the bullpen. Edwin Díaz and Ryne Stanek have been unbelievable, which was highlighted when the two combined for 13 outs Friday. But outside those two, the bullpen has a combined 8.52 ERA, 1.95 WHIP, and 1.57 K/BB.

Will the Mets offense click these final two games? Will the starters provide the length that resulted in their August/September surge? Can the bullpen pull together to put up zeroes against the Dodgers’ potent lineup?

All these questions will be answered starting Sunday. Where the Mets will either force a Game 7 and be on the cusp of their first trip to the Fall Classic since 2015, or where their season of magical runs will end.

The post Mets Storylines For The Remainder Of The NLCS appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The Mets’ offense, for the second-straight game, was nowhere to be found, as they were unable to cash in a run with the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom half of the sixth. Mark Vientos answered Shohei Ohtani’s lead off home run in the first inning with a solo shot of his own, but the Mets would then leave 10 base runners on the rest of the way.

New York’s backs are now against the wall, down 3-1 in the NLCS and needing to win three games in a row to advance to the World Series.

Here are the pitching matchups for Game 5 …

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

DAVID PETERSON

On Thursday night, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza announced that David Peterson will get the start in the biggest game of the season. The southpaw quickly entered Mendoza’s circle of trust in the bullpen this postseason with key high-leverage appearances against the Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies. This will be his first start of October, but he had an incredible regular season as a member of the rotation, recording a 2.90 ERA and 10-3 record over 21 outings and 121 innings.

Peterson has great extension with well above-average fastball and off-speed run value, and is able to use his sinker effectively with a 85% ground ball rate. With 31% usage, the pitch has acted as a way for him to get ahead of the count, and in some cases he’s utilized it as a put-away pitch. It has allowed the 29-year-old to set up his fastball and slider to use as swing-and-miss offerings with whiff rates of 28.7% and 33.9%, respectively.

Freddie Freeman is a lifetime .316 hitter against Peterson (6-19) with two home runs, five runs batted in and seven strikeouts. He is the only Dodger that has more than 10 career at-bats against the lefty, but given that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts sat Freeman in Thursday night’s game while he deals with an ankle injury, it will be interesting to see if they give the 15-year-veteran the start on Friday.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

JACK FLAHERTY

Jack Flaherty is set to start for the Dodgers for the second time in this series. The Mets were unable to touch him in Game 1, as he struck out six batters across seven scoreless innings. In the NLDS against the San Diego Padres, the 29-year-old allowed four earned runs in 5 1/3 frames. He has seven career postseason starts with a 3.38 ERA and 39 strikeouts over 37 1/3 innings.

Flaherty’s knuckle curve was the one pitch that the Mets could not touch, and was also his go-to put-away pitch throughout the course of the season. With a 27% put-away percentage and 43.6% whiff percentage, the right-hander is able to use it to his advantage late in counts. He primarily turns to his four-seamer at 44.3% usage to set up his slider (29%) and knuckle curve (21.8%).

Jesse Winker is a .375 career hitter against Flaherty (9-24) with three doubles, two home runs, and three strikeouts. Besides Winker, the only Met on the roster that has had more than seven at-bats against him is Starling Marte, who has struggled with a lifetime .160 average (4-25) that includes a home run and eight strikeouts.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Mets are now staring straight into the face of adversity for the hundredth time in the last three weeks. It is do-or-die heading into Game 5, and while they have a daunting task against Flaherty, they also have an opportunity to get a win in front of their home crowd to continue this magical season.

As far as New York’s strategy for this game goes, putting pressure on Flaherty early and often will be the key, but the Mets must cash in with runners in scoring position. Living and dying by the long ball has not been successful in this series for them, so being able to ride the carousel and keep the line moving will be how the Mets can score.

It does not get any more nerve-wrecking for this team, but the show must go on and they have to take it pitch-by-pitch in order to bring this series to Game 6.

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Dodgers manager Dave Roberts decided to throw a bullpen game on Monday afternoon, during which the Mets saw five different relievers over the course of nine innings. The Mets were able to rough up Landon Knack in the top half of the second inning thanks to a grand slam off the bat of Mark Vientos that blew the game open early. They were able to hold their lead and tie the series heading back to Flushing.

The Mets look to take control in front of the home crowd for Game 3 Wednesday night. Here are the pitching matchups for Game 3…

Luis Severino. Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Luis Severino

Luis Severino has not been as dominant as Sean Manaea or Jose Quintana this postseason. Still, to his credit, he has battled his way through two respectable starts against the Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies. Severino has a 5.01 ERA in his career during the postseason, where he has seen some nightmare starts with the New York Yankees, but in both of his postseason starts with the Mets, he has managed to pitch six innings with 10 total strikeouts.

Severino has been able to find himself this season with the Mets, relying on his fastball like he did in 2018 and 2022. In 2024, his fastball run value ranks in the 90th percentile among qualified pitchers, and he has been able to put hitters away with his new sweeper. The right-hander uses his sweeper only 17.2% of the time but has a 38.6% Whiff percentage, with hitters batting .139 against the pitch and using it as a put-away pitch 24.3% of the time. To put that in perspective, Severino’s 2023 put-away pitch was his sinker, where he only had a whiff percentage of 20.8%.

Mookie Betts is a lifetime .324 hitter against Severino (11-34) with a home run, four doubles, four runs batted in, and seven strikeouts. The only two other position players with more than 10 at-bats against Severino are Teoscar Hernandez and Kevin Kiermaier, both hitting below .200. Severino, on the other hand, has only two starts against the Dodgers (none this season) and has given up seven runs in six innings of work.

While Severino has been able to restore some dominance this year with a 3.91 ERA in the regular season, he has given up the most home runs on the starting rotation (23) and the second most walks (60). Walks have always killed the Mets starters, but Severino must keep the ball in the park and attack the Dodgers lineup.

Walker Buehler

Walker Buehler is set to start for the Dodgers on Wednesday night after throwing a bullpen game on Monday afternoon. Buehler had a horrendous start against the San Diego Padres in the NLDS, where he gave up six earned runs in five innings of work, but he has a great track record in the postseason, given the bad start. In 16 career postseason starts, Buehler has a 3.40 ERA with 101 strikeouts in 84 2/3 innings pitched.

Buehler has a deep mix relying on seven different pitches, primarily using his sweeper to put away hitters. While he only uses his sweeper 8.2% of the time, it is his best swing and miss pitch with a 29.4% Whiff percentage and 24.5% put away percentage. Even with his seven-pitch arsenal, Buehler uses his fastball 29% of the time, which is where hitters have hurt him. He has surrendered a .342 batting average on that pitch, which correlates with a .321 batting average on the first pitch in an at-bat thrown.

Pete Alonso, a lifetime .357 hitter against Buehler (5-for-14), with four home runs, eight batted in, and one strikeout, has seen Buehler the second most. Jesse Winker, a lifetime .267 hitter against Buehler (4-for-15) with two home runs, three runs batted in, and two strikeouts, has the most experience against Buehler.

The Mets have struggled against starting pitching the entire postseason, thriving when opposing teams are forced to go to their bullpen, but have a unique opportunity to jump on Buehler given his splits with the fastball and first pitch thrown in at-bats.

FINAL THOUGHTS

After tying the series at one apiece, the Mets can again control their destiny with a win on Wednesday night. Luis Severino has a great opportunity in his first postseason start at Citi Field to shut down a Dodger lineup on a cold New York City night. He has shown dominance in front of the Flushing faithful with a 2.96 ERA at home this season.

While getting off to a hot start is always ideal, the Mets must be ultra-aggressive against Buehler. Not only will an aggressive approach lead to success, but the Dodgers are coming off of a bullpen game, and even with a day off, getting to their bullpen will completely change Dave Roberts’s pitching strategy for the rest of the series.

It is pretty simple for the Mets. A win in Game 3 allows you to control your own destiny, with two more games to follow at Citi Field.

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The Mets took the lead from the game’s first batter, with Francisco Lindor launching one into the right field stands to put the Mets up 1-0 and end the Dodgers’ impressive scoreless inning streak. Dodgers’ opener Ryan Brasier settled down to limit any more damage, but bulk man Landon Knack would be in for an even ruder greeting in the second inning.

Knack allowed the first two batters to reach before inducing a weak popout. Tyrone Taylor then drove home the game’s second run with an RBI double, putting runners on second and third with one out. A second out without a run being drivenin prompted Dave Roberts to intentionally walk Francisco Lindor, bringing Mark Vientos to the plate.

Roberts’ plan backfired, as Vientos worked a nine-pitch at-bat that resulted in a grand slam that found the bleachers in right-center field. Vientos’ long ball put the Mets up 6-0, putting them in prime position early with their ace, Sean Manaea, on the mound.

WE CAN’T STOP WATCHING
6-0 Mets
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— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) October 14, 2024

Manaea cruised through the early portion of the game, continuing his stellar postseason, to keep the Mets’ 6-0 lead intact. It wasn’t until the middle innings that he found trouble, allowing a Max Muncy solo homer to lead off the fifth inning. He exited the inning without further damage but was pulled in the sixth after allowing two walks and an error from Jose Iglesias.

Phil Maton entered the bases-loaded, no-out jam, looking to prevent major damage. He got Will Smith to pop up in the infield, getting a massive first out, but Tommy Edman grounded a ball under Pete Alonso‘s glove to drive two runners home and cut the Mets’ lead to 6-3.

A walk to Max Muncy loaded the bases again, bringing Kiké Hernández to the plate as the go-ahead run. Hernández grounded the ball to Mark Vientos, who bobbled it before tossing it to Jose Iglesias at second to complete the double play. The Dodgers challenged, as Iglesias’ throw nearly took Pete Alonso off the bag, but it was confirmed to be a huge double play, regardless of the sloppy execution, to get the Mets out of the inning.

Ryne Stanek provided a less eventful seventh inning after Maton led it off with a popout and a walk to Shohei Ohtani. Stanek faced Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernández and got Betts to strike out and Hernández to ground out while pumping 99 miles per hour. Those two outs got the Mets out of the inning and the hardest part of the Dodgers lineup out of the way with two innings remaining.

Stanek remained on for the eighth, but Tommy Edman’s third hit of the night and a walk to Max Muncy forced Carlos Mendoza to go to Edwin Díaz for a four-out save. Díaz’s first test was against Kiké Hernández to close out the eighth inning, and he recorded a flyout to keep the Dodgers three runs down.

Pete Alonso almost singlehandedly provided the Mets a much-needed insurance run in the top of the ninth inning. With one out, Alonso walked and then stole second base without a throw. Then, Starling Marte grounded a ball up the middle, allowing Alonso to just barely score with a good dive. That gave Díaz a four-run cushion with just three outs to play.

Díaz allowed a leadoff single to Andy Pages, bringing up Shohei Ohtani and the top of the Dodgers’ lineup with no outs. Ohtani walked before Mookie Betts struck out on a 99 mph fastball upstairs. Díaz went back to his fastball to strike out Teoscar Hernández before fooling Freddie Freeman with a slider.

The 7-3 win ties the NLCS at one game apiece before the Mets and Dodgers head east to Citi Field for three games.

Stat of the Game

Mark Vientos became the third Mets player to hit a grand slam in the postseason, not counting Robin Ventura‘s grand slam single in 1999. He joins Edgardo Alfonzo, who hit a postseason grand slam in 1999, and Francisco Lindor, who hit one just last week.

Player of the Game

Vientos’ grand slam naturally makes him the player of the game. His long ball was the difference, as the Mets won by four. Vientos has been key to the Mets’ success this postseason, and he keeps hitting and providing value with his bat.

On Deck

The Mets return to Citi Field to continue the NLCS against the Dodgers. They have Tuesday off and then play Wednesday at 8:08 p.m. ET. The game will air on FS1, with Luis Severino taking the mound for New York and Walker Buehler for Los Angeles.

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