Mets Down Dodgers 12-6, Send NLCS Back to Cali

The Mets didn’t hear no bell.

Pete Alonso hit a three-run homer in the first inning, Starling Marte doubled three times and New York out-slugged the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 12-6 victory on Friday in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series, which may have been the final game at Citi Field this season.

After dropping Games 3 and 4 at home by a combined score of 18-2, this contest was different from the start.

The Dodgers had runners on second and third with nobody out in the first inning, but left them stranded, with David Peterson (3 2/3 innings, two runs, six hits) striking out Tommy Edman to end the threat. The lefty flexed and screamed before making his way to the dugout.

More screaming would come moments later, this time from the exuberant Citi Field faithful, when Alonso’s 432-foot bomb cleared the center-field wall. It was the second time this postseason that Alonso hit a three-run homer with the Mets facing elimination.

After a pair of walks started the New York third, Marte’s second double brought in two to make it 5-1. Then, with two outs, the Mets got three straight RBI hits: a Francisco Alvarez single, a Francisco Lindor triple and a Brandon Nimmo single to put them up 8-1.

Jack Flaherty, who tossed seven scoreless innings to beat the Mets in Game 1, gave up eight earned runs in three innings. The most runs he gave up in a start during the regular season was six.

Rookie Andy Pages homered to make it 8-2 in the fourth, and Peterson walked two to load the bases with two outs, prompting manager Carlos Mendoza to go to the bullpen. Reed Garrett caught Freddie Freeman looking on a 3-2 sweeper to end the inning.

The Mets added two runs in the fourth on a Jesse Winker RBI triple and a Jeff McNeil sacrifice fly. Pages got the Dodgers back in the game with his second homer, a three-run shot in the fifth, that made it 10-5 and chased Garrett. Mookie Betts later homered off Ryne Stanek in the sixth to make it 10-6.

McNeil, making his first start since Sept. 6 when he was hit by a pitch and broke his wrist, countered with his second sacrifice fly. He finished 0-for-3 with two RBIs in his return to the starting lineup, replacing Jose Iglesias. Marte added an RBI single in the eighth.

New York finished the contest without striking out, marking the 11th such instance in MLB postseason history and the first since the Anaheim Angels did it in the 2002 World Series.

The Mets will head to Los Angeles looking to become the first team to overcome a 3-1 series deficit since the 2020 Dodgers. Teams up 3-1 in a best-of-seven series have won 79 of 93 series (85 percent).

Stats of the Game

Winker became the only player with two triples in Mets postseason history. After scoring nine runs over the first four games, the Mets scored 12 in Game 5.

Player of the Game

Marte became the first Met with three doubles in a postseason game. He was 4-for-5 with a run scored and three RBIs.

On Deck

Game 6 is set for Sunday night at Dodger Stadium, with first pitch scheduled at 8:08 p.m. ET. Neither team has formally announced a starting pitcher, but the Mets will likely go with Sean Manaea, who is 2-0 with a 2.65 ERA in three postseason starts. The Dodgers went with a bullpen game in Game 2 and may go in that direction once again. The game will air on FS1.

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