3 takeaways from the Mets' NLDS Game 3 win over the Phillies

Powered by the Citi Field crowd, a sterling performance from Sean Manaea and big homers by Pete Alonso and Jesse Winker, the Mets were able to steamroll past the Phillies, 7-2, in Game 3 of the NLDS Tuesday.

Now, with Jose Quintana on the mound, they’ll look to clinch a postseason series at home for the first time in Citi Field history Wednesday. Here are three takeaways from Tuesday's game.

1. Sean Manaea’s brilliance extended further than most people realized.

Manaea had struggled big-time in the postseason — 0-3 with a 10.66 ERA — but confidence and control led the way to seven-plus innings of one-run ball against the high-powered Phillies lineup. When he was done, Manaea left to a frenzied ovation, and, in response, he blew a kiss to the crowd and then looked up to the sky — and that’s because he was grieving.

“That was for my Aunt Mabel,” he said. “I just got a message that she passed away early this morning.”

Despite a heavy heart, Manaea managed to shoulder a heavy load. The bullpen needed every bit of that.

Mets relievers have thrown 20 ⅔ innings this postseason, second only to the Tigers, with an average of 18.19 pitches per inning. Coming into Tuesday, closer Edwin Diaz had thrown 130 pitches over the previous eight days, but Manaea’s performance, along with insurance runs driven in by Jose Iglesias and Francisco Lindor in the seventh and eighth, meant Carlos Mendoza could keep it to just Phil Maton and Ryne Stanek. The Phillies' bullpen, meanwhile, took another hit, as Rob Thomson was forced to use four relievers, including closer Carlos Estevez for an inning.

2.The Citi Field crowd was everything Mendoza could have hoped for and more, and it seemed to give the team a jolt.

Even before the game, Mendoza noted how special it felt to finally be back in New York for the team’s first home playoff game of the season, and the 44,093 in attendance Tuesday made sure to let him hear their support. The crowd was raucous from the first pitch, singing along to Francisco Lindor’s “My Girl” walk-up music, and willing Manaea through a dicey sixth inning where he struck out Bryce Harper with two on and no outs on three pitches.

“Amazing, fantastic,” Mendoza said. “Let's do it again tomorrow...What a privilege, what an honor for us to have that support from our fan base. We feel it. I've been saying it the whole year, and today was the perfect example. For us it's a privilege to be able to put this uniform on and represent this franchise and do it for our fan base. They deserve this, and just know that we will continue to fight. We will continue to believe. And we'll continue to have that one day [at a time] mentality.”

3. Pete Alonso looks locked in.

Alonso has historically been a streaky hitter, and right now, that streak is registering as “hot.” Though he’s not hitting for average this postseason, his opposite-field solo home run on the first pitch he saw against Aaron Nola in the second traveled 385 feet and provided a sort of mental boost after the Phillies kicked off the game making hard contact against Manaea. It was the third homer of the playoffs for Alonso.

“He's on,” Mendoza said. “He can carry us. And we're here because of that big swing he got in [Game 3 of the Wild Card Series] in Milwaukee . . . As soon as he hit [the homer Tuesday], everybody in the ballpark knew that ball was gone. That's not easy to do on a night where the ball seems like it wasn't going to travel as much after [Kyle] Schwarber hits 107 [mph in the first inning] and it doesn't even make it to the warning track. Then Pete connects with that one and he's out of the ballpark.”

Added Alonso: “Right now, I’m just trying to get a pitch I can handle, put a good swing on it and stay within myself . . If I’m hitting balls the other way, it’s typically a good sign.”

By Laura Albanese

laura.albanese@newsday.com@AlbaneseLaura

Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.