Mets unlikely ride comes to a disappointing conclusion in the NLCS

Still, let's not let the ending take away from the journey that got the Mets two wins from a National League Pennant

NY Post

What’s Up with the Mets? 🚩

• The Mets storybook season came to a disappointing conclusion on Sunday night with a 10-5 loss to the Dodgers in game six of the NLCS (box)

• LHP Sean Manaea started for the Mets and just didn’t have it, going 2+ innings and allowing five runs on six hits and two walks, while striking out two and allowing a home run

• RHP Phil Maton allowed a crushing two run homer to Dodgers catcher Will Smith in relief of Manaea in the third

• Mark Vientos homered again for New York, his fifth of the 2024 postseason

• Tyrone Taylor, Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, and Francisco Alvarez all had multi-hit games

• The theme of this game for the Mets was the frustrating lack of the big hit, as they had traffic in eight of the nine innings and stranded 13 men on base

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Moment(s) of the Game 🙈

It was clear from the beginning of this game that Sean Manaea just did not have his best stuff, and when Tommy Edman took him deep in the 3rd inning to give the Dodgers a 4-1 lead the Mets were clearly in trouble.

But to me, the backbreaking blow in this game came just a few batters after Manaea departed. After getting the first two hitters he faced out, righty Phil Maton served up a long two run homer to Will Smith that put LA up by five and really put the Mets behind the eight ball.

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Did you know? ⁉️

• Mark Vientos hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning, marking his 13th and 14th RBI of the Postseason, setting the Mets’ single-Postseason mark. He surpassed by John Olerud in 1999 and Curtis Granderson in 2015, who each drove home 12 RBI in the Postseason

• Vientos is the sixth player in Postseason history aged 24-or-younger with at least 14 RBI in a single Postseason, joining B.J. Upton (16 RBI in 2008); Kyle Tucker (15 RBI in 2021); Albert Pujols (14 RBI in 2004); Carlos Correa (14 RBI in 2017); and Juan Soto (14 RBI in 2019).

• This is the first time that the Dodgers clinched the NL Pennant or World Series at Dodger Stadium since winning Game 7 of the 1988 NLCS, 6-0, over the Mets

• The Dodgers outscored the Mets 46-26 (+20) in the series, marking just the third time in LCS (AL or NL) history that a club outscored their opponent by at least 20 runs in the series

• The Dodgers’ 46 runs are the most by a National League club in any Postseason series surpassing the previous mark of 44 runs set by the 1996 Braves in the NLCS

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Sour ending should not take away from what the Mets accomplished in 2024… ✍️

NY Post

Welp, that wasn’t the way this was supposed to end was it?

In a year that had more dramatic turns than any I can remember in all of my years of following this team, the Mets 2024 season ultimately finished six wins short of where they wanted it to.

When Francisco Alvarez bounced out to second base for the final out of the NLCS, the faces in the road dugout told the whole story.

Despite unfathomable odds, the Mets fought their way all the way to the precipice of the World Series, and established a deep-rooted reputation as a team that embodied resiliency and could overcome any obstacle in its path.

Even down by six entering the ninth inning last night, this team still believed it could come back, and the faces in the dugout as the reality of the situation set in after the last out were what really resonated with me more than anything about the game.

Despite the ending, I feel like we can’t discount what this team was able to accomplish in 2024.

I’m incredibly proud of the way the Mets were able to rewrite their own story throughout the summer, defying all the odds, and shutting the naysayers up to provide us with a plethora of memorable moments, and give us these bonus three weeks of baseball in October.

And more than anything, I’m extremely optimistic about the future.

David Stearns emphatically proved he was worth the wait, and between he and Carlos Mendoza the Mets clearly have the right people in leadership positions.

Stearns in particular deserves a world of credit, because it feels a little like he just took this team to the NLCS without hardly even trying.

The Mets didn’t make an overly splashy off-season addition, and at the trade deadline they resisted the urge to surrender any of their top prospects to make a dramatic addition then either. New York will now enter this winter with a fully stocked arsenal of exciting young minor leaguers, and with Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander’s money coming off the payroll there will be significantly more funds available to pursue high end marquee players in free-agency.

We know there is a lot Stearns and company still have to figure out, starting with Pete Alonso who stands out to me as a potential option to accept the qualifying offer to get another shot at delivering a big season in a contract year.

If not, the Mets should still pursue a long-term deal with Alonso. After all, he is the reason the Mets got to within two wins of the National League Pennant.

Then there’s the pitching staff, which is riddled with veterans who are going to be free-agents, and a primary focus for the Mets front office will have to be determining what kind of rotation and bullpen the Mets feel they need to get over the hump, who is coming back in the rotation and what external additions are needed.

But these are conversations for another day.

Right now, I hope the general consensus from the rest of Mets Nation is one of pride, hope, and optimism for the future.

This season didn’t end the way we wanted. But for the first time in a long time, there’s legitimate belief that this team will be back.

There’s a lot to celebrate in the midst of defeat.

LFGM forever!

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The Championship Chase 🏆

• The Yankees and Dodgers will begin the 2024 Fall Classic in LA on Friday night