Mets get the split in LA as they got up off the mat yet again
And is it time to give Luis Torrens a start behind the plate?
What’s Up with the Mets? 🚩
The Mets beat the Dodgers 7-3 on Monday, gaining a much needed split in Los Angeles to even the NLCS 1-1 (Box)
LHP Sean Manaea started on the bump for New York, and was better than his final line indicated. In 5+ innings, he was charged with three runs (two earned) on two hits, while walking four and striking out seven
Francisco Lindor set the tone early in this one, leading off the game with a long home run off Dodgers righty Ryan Brasier, snapping LA’s 33 inning scoreless streak in the playoffs (watch)
Phil Maton and Ryne Stanek combined to give the Mets 2.2 innings of scoreless relief to stabilize the middle of the game
Mark Vientos continued his torrid postseason, delivering the biggest hit of this game with a two out, second inning grand slam to dead center field (watch)
Edwin Díaz entered with two on and two out in the bottom of the 8th and collected the final four outs of the game to earn his second save this October
Starling Marte was one of the Mets unsung stars in this game, collecting three hits, an RBI, and scoring a run
Injury Updates 🏥
Brandon Nimmo is playing through Plantar Fasciitis in his foot, and will remain active throughout the playoffs
Did you know? ⁉️
Since the LCS moved to its current seven-game format in 1985, the winner of the second game of the NLCS has advanced to the World Series 23 times (59.0%)
Francisco Lindor’s home run in Game 2 was the 19th leadoff home run in NLCS history and the first since Kyle Schwarber’s leadoff blast in Game 1 of last year’s NLCS
Mark Vientos’ grand slam was the third grand slam in Mets postseason history. The last came in Game 4 of this year’s NLDS against the Phillies from Lindor, the one before coming in Game 1 of the 1999 NLDS from Edgardo Alfonzo against the Diamondbacks
Who’s Hot 🔥
Francisco Lindor has reached base in all nine of the Mets postseason games so far in 2024. Six of his ten hits are for extra bases with nine walks and eight RBI
Mark Vientos has reached base in seven of the Mets nine postseason games in 2024. He’s hitting .378/.410/.676 with two doubles, three home runs, 11 RBI with six runs scored
Moment(s) of the Game ⭐
To me, there were two moments in this game that stood out head and shoulders above all of the others, and it was difficult to determine if one was bigger than the other.
In the 2nd inning, the Mets were already up 2-0, but were at risk of failing to capitalize on a golden opportunity to blow the game open. With one out and runners on 2nd and 3rd base, Francisco Alvarez weakly popped up for the 2nd out, which led to the Dodgers intentionally walking Francisco Lindor to load the bases. Then up stepped Mark Vientos. After a long nine pitch at-bat, Vientos blasted yet another center field home run, this time a back breaking grand slam for LA that gave the Mets an early 6-0 lead.
Then in the 6th inning, the Mets painted themselves into a corner with a trio of walks and shotty defense on the right side of the infield. The Dodgers had cut the lead to 6-3 and were still batting with one out and the bases loaded for postseason hero Kike Hernandez. All of the momentum was on LA’s side—until Phil Maton induced an inning ending 5-4-3 double play that quieted the crowd, restabilized the game, and swung the momentum back into the road dugout.
The Mets and Dodgers are off today as they travel back to New York to resume the NLCS at Citi Field tomorrow night.
Yet again, the Mets answered the bell… ✍️
After the drubbing the Mets absorbed at the hands of the Dodgers in Game 1 of the NLCS, we didn’t have to look too far on Mets twitter to see glimpses of negativity creeping in. Too many fans have such severe cases of Mets PTSD, and were having difficulty separating past Mets wounds from the current team’s magic.
Like I said yesterday, though, this team is special, and was well positioned to bounce back in Game 2. And they did so emphatically.
New York was the better team from the first pitch on Monday, and it was none other than Francisco Lindor that set the tone with a leadoff home run that got the Mets off and running.
In the second inning, the Mets were able to do what they do best and deliver yet another huge inning this postseason. After Tyrone Taylor plated a run with a scorching double down the left field line, the inning eventually came down to Mark Vientos with the bases loaded and two outs.
Were any of us surprised when he crushed a grand slam?
On the mound Sean Manaea was just what the doctor ordered for the Mets, impressively overmatching Shohei Ohtani in particular as he kept the Dodgers off balance and off the board for the majority of his outing.
He seemed to tire in the sixth when he issued back-to-back walks to begin the frame, and then was unlucky when Jose Iglesias made an error on what could have easily been a double play ground ball off the bat of Freddie Freeman.
That play ended his outing, and while Phil Maton made us all collectively nervous, when he induced a 5-4-3 double play from Kike Hernandez, all Mets fans everywhere were able to breathe a sigh of relief.
A fully rested Edwin Díaz entered with two on in the eighth inning and got Hernandez to fly out to right field to end the inning. After allowing the first two Dodgers to reach in the ninth, he impressively struck out Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernandez, and Freddie Freeman to end the game and send this series back to New York tied at one.
It was another outing for Díaz when he didn’t trust his fastball at first, leaning heavily on what has become a mediocre slider for him in 2024 and not pitching effectively with it as a result. But then, he moved back to his fastball and blew away the Dodgers to seal Game 2 and nail down the much-needed split for the Mets before heading home for three games at Citi Field.
The Mets have continually shown us time and time again over the last several weeks that if you knock them down, they’ll get right back up.
Now it’s time to take this party to Citi Field and try to build on their game two success.
Is it time for Luis Torrens to get a start behind the plate? ✍️
As a rookie last season, Francisco Álvarez crushed 25 home runs in less than 400 at-bats, and looked every bit like the budding superstar scouts had projected him to become for years. The Mets remain incredibly confident in Alvarez’ long-term future, but it’s safe to say his sophomore season has not gone as planned and that poor performance has lingered into the postseason.
Alvarez’ bat has regressed substantially in year two - he’s been significantly more vulnerable to breaking balls in the dirt than he was a year ago. Regarded as a plus defender, he even allowed 11 passed balls in less than 100 starts behind the plate. He has struggled to block balls, he has struggled to receive balls, and thanks in part to the pitchers struggling to hold runners on, he has struggled to throw runners out (although he did throw out Shohei Ohtani in Game 1 of the NLCS on Sunday night trying to steal second base).
After an encouraging September, in nine postseason games Alvarez has simply not hit. He’s gone just 5-for-33 with five singles and one RBI.
The concerning part about that 5-for-33 is not just the contact - or the inability to make contact at times - but it’s this hasty approach he’s employed, specifically with runners on-base. Too often he has chased either quality strikes or pitches outside the zone early in counts to induce a non-competitive result.
Sure, that can be attributed to maturity, but this is year two after a season when this didn’t happen nearly as often with Álvarez, and these things become even more magnified in the postseason when every run and every run scoring opportunity is so precious.
Álvarez is obviously the future behind the plate in Queens, but it’s becoming more and more noticeable that he’s pressing significantly and just trying to do too much at the plate right now. Which makes me wonder if giving back-up Luis Torrens a start, potentially even tomorrow in game three, would be beneficial.
The trade that brought Torrens to Flushing correlated almost directly with the Mets turnaround, and he’s been everything the team could have asked from its backup catcher.
During the regular season, he slashed .229/.292/.373 with 11 extra-base hits and 15 RBI. Most impressively, he threw out 13 of 28 attempted base-stealers, and was a real weapon controlling the running game from behind the plate.
Right now, Torrens may be the better option.
Álvarez remains the best catcher on this roster, but he might need a mental reset, and New York would absolutely not lose anything on defense with Torrens behind the plate. I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing him getting his first start of the postseason tomorrow.
The Championship Chase 🏆
Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton both homered in the Yankees 5-2 win over the Guardians in game one of the ALCS
I agree with you regarding Alvarez. I thought in the Phillies game he should have been pinch hit for in the later innings before Lindor's heroics. Has regressed as a hitter always trying for the fences and is almost an automatic out. Coming home 1-1 tremendous. Now get at least 2 of 3 at home!
There are back-ups available for catcher, 2B, and OF. Each might need a break.
OMG is starting to tire. Alavarez is having issues. Nimmo is playing hurt.
Yesterday shows that more than one team is having problems putting a true starter out each day. Someone told me there was some talk that Ohtani might start ala Senga (I don't think it was too serious talk but IDK) -- we saw why that sorta talk might be raised last night.