The Mets defeated the Dodgers in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series and forced a Game 5.
NEW YORK – The New York Mets fought their first elimination game of the American League Championship Series. And in their clubhouse they are sure that there are still two more to go to reach their goal.
Yes, the Mets beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 12-6 and, except for some hesitation, from the first inning on, there was never any doubt for the 43,841 people who paid for a ticket to enter Game 5 at Citi Field Stadium, that the series was extended.
The Mets enjoyed a led offensive explosion Pete Alonso and that some other players who had forgotten to hit continued, including Francisco Alvarez.
“We’re able to take games like this, especially when they hit 1 to 9, they’re not chasing pitches,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “I think we did a good job today with their starter, who tried to make us chase pitches and didn’t. “We attacked him when he tried to get to the strike zone and we hurt him.”
Many will question whether Dodgers manager Dave Roberts punished his starter too much. Jack Flaherty especially in the third and final game, when he gave up five of the eight earned runs.
Before that, he had already allowed a home run by Alonso in the first inning and it was immediately noticeable that he was struggling to find good pitches. Just last Sunday, Flaherty silenced the Mets with two hits in seven innings in the series opener for a ticket to the Fall Classic. That day, no New York player was struck out.
“We had to play like that today,” said the manager. “Obviously, with Pete setting the tone in the first inning.”
More will be questioned after the Dodgers’ batting efforts resurrected in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, led by two home runs from Andy Pages and another of Mookie Betts.
But the Dodgers’ pitching never gave itself authority. They allowed hitters like Sterling Marte to hit four hits, including three doubles; Álvarez had three hits, after entering the game with a .167 average, that is, two hits in 10 at-bats before this Friday.
“I think the big difference was his confidence,” said Marte of Álvarez. “He’s the type of player that you can tell him something and he’s going to implement it. “He is a young player who listens, learns and works.”
“That’s the attitude we all have in the clubhouse,” he said. “We see what happened, our mistakes and our successes and we move on.”
That attitude was confirmed again, in the second elimination game they experienced last season, when they met at home the two nights before, after competing.
Marte, for example, left with three RBI. Jeff MacNeilin his first start since suffering a broken wrist from being hit by a pitch on September 6, he drove in two more scores.
The Mets’ pitching was far from exemplary. But it is enough to keep the advantages that their offense gave them. Edwin Diazwho usually closes, relieved for two innings tonight and was the only one of the four Mets pitchers to prevent runs.
“I go out to do my job no matter what the inning is or what the situation is, just to try to help my team,” Díaz said. “We played very good baseball to beat a very good team. “All the boys did a great job and we won.”
The Dodgers immediately left for the airport to return home; The Mets will travel to Los Angeles this Saturday, hoping to survive another elimination game on Sunday.
“It’s simply a matter of continuing to think incrementally,” Díaz said. “We can’t see any further ahead as the only way to have two games is to win the first one.”