Mets Pitching Silences Dodgers’ Star Power in Game 2

Monday’s Game 2 was about as close to a must-win game as it could get. The Mets had their ace, Sean Manaea, on the mound against the Dodgers, who were throwing a bullpen game. Fortunately for the Mets, the bats spotted them a big lead early and the arms came to play, mostly shutting down the Dodgers’ lineup and silencing the star power at the top of the order.

Manaea, as he has been for months now, was brilliant. Through the first five innings, he surrendered just two hits and two walks, and was only tagged with one earned run on a Max Muncy solo shot in the fifth. He ran into some trouble in the sixth, walking both Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernández to lead off the inning. He then got what looked to be a double-play ball, but Jose Iglesias committed a rare error to load the bases instead. It was a tough hop but one that should have been fielded cleanly. If the play is made, Manaea probably has a chance to finish the sixth. Instead, he was out of the game without recording an out in the inning.

In came Phil Maton, who to that point had struggled in the postseason, giving up four earned runs in just 2.2 innings. He wasn’t perfect, but he got the job done and limited the damage. He got Will Smith to pop out to second for the first out, and then gave up a single to Tommy Edman. Pete Alonso had a chance to field the ball on the dive but couldn’t quite snag it. That made it a 6-3 ballgame with runners on first and third and the tying run at the plate in Muncy. Maton walked him to load the bases and then got Kiké Hernández to roll into a 5-4-3 double play to escape the inning.

Manaea got charged with two more runs (one earned) and Maton did allow two of the inherited runners to score, but it was more a result of poor fielding than poor pitching.

The Mets stuck with Maton to begin the seventh, who got Andy Pages to pop out before walking Shohei Ohtani. Manager Carlos Mendoza then opted for Ryne Stanek, who came in and struck out Betts and got Teaoscar Hernández to ground out to leave Ohtani stranded on first. Stanek was given the eighth inning as well and got a quick first two outs from Freddie Freeman and Smith, but then gave up a single to Edman and a walk to Muncy to bring the tying run to the plate once again. That meant it was time for Edwin Díaz.

Díaz has been far from perfect this season, but Mendoza has been consistent in his use of him as the team’s highest-leverage arm. With four outs to go, it was all up to Díaz. After letting Edman and Muncy pull off an uncontested double steal, Díaz got out of it. Hernández to flew out to right to end the inning and escape yet another jam.

The Mets got an extra insurance run in the ninth to make it 7-3, and then it was left to Díaz to record the final three outs. In typical Díaz fashion, he made it interesting. Pages singled to lead off the inning, and then Díaz carefully worked around Ohtani and ultimately walked him to put runners on first and second with no one out. Then, also in typical Díaz fashion, he struck the next three batters out to end the game.

It wasn’t the cleanest game the Mets have pitched. As a team, they combined to walk eight batters, which only happened five times this season. The Mets were 2-3 when walking at least eight and hadn’t done so since August 15.

Most importantly though, they held the Dodgers one through five of Ohtani, Betts, Teoscar Hernández, Freeman and Smith to 0-for-19 with five walks. Ultimately, the Mets pitchers got the job done.

Manaea led all pitchers on either side with 11 swings and misses, and Díaz was tied for third with six. Díaz also had the fastest pitch thrown in the game, cranking it up to 100.3 mph (albeit on a ball to Freeman).

Looking Ahead to Queens

Thanks to the Game 2 win, the Mets are heading back to Queens tied 1-1 in the NLCS and have three games in three days coming up starting on Wednesday. Most of the bullpen should be available.

The Mets used five pitchers in Game 1 of the NLCS, starting with Kodai Senga and working their way through Reed Garrett, David Peterson, Danny Young and José Buttó in the 9-0 loss. Senga won’t be available again until Game 5, but it’s still up in the air if he’ll even get the start after how he looked in Game 1.

Peterson would be the obvious candidate to replace Senga as the starter, but it would take him out of the relief role that he has been so valuable in. If Peterson doesn’t pitch in Games 3 and 4, he could get the nod in Game 5. If not, he will almost certainly piggyback Senga. If Peterson does pitch in Games 3 and 4, his availability to go behind Senga would be in question. The most likely candidate to replace him in the piggyback role would be Tylor Megill, who didn’t pitch in Games 1 and 2 and threw seven shutout innings in his only appearance against the Dodgers back in May.

Buttó, who needs at least two days of rest following a relief appearance, will likely be available for only one of the next three games. That could be as early as Game 3, seeing as he will already be on two days of rest. If the Mets wait until Game 5, that would make him unavailable for Game 6 if they stick to giving him two days of rest. The Mets will likely hope to get more than three outs from him if they can when he does pitch.

Garrett used only 15 pitches to get four outs in Game 1 and didn’t pitch in Game 2, so he should be a full go for Games 3-5. Young has been relegated to mop-up duty. In all likelihood, if he’s in the game, the Mets are down or up big.

The fallout from Game 2 is much more cut and dry than Game 1, which saw two converted starters working in relief. Maton, Stanek and Díaz should all be available one one day of rest.

Luis Severino will get the start on Wednesday, followed by Jose Quintana on Thursday. As mentioned, Friday is very much still up in the air. Every pitcher on the Mets roster aside from Manaea should be available to pitch at some point over the next three games.

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