Mets' stunning playoff ride runs out of magic in NLCS Game 6 loss to Dodgers
Mets players stand on the dugout steps after losing NLCS Game 6 against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Sunday. Credit: Newsday/Thomas A. Ferrara
This joy ride of a season, the giddy trek through October the Mets never wanted to end -- actually refusing to let it happen -- finally came to a crashing conclusion during Sunday night’s NLCS Game 6 at Dodger Stadium.
Part of what made this Mets’ playoff run so special, and so treasured, is the fact that it was so unexpected. First-year manager Carlos Mendoza and his close-knit, fun-loving crew weren’t supposed to be here, and for that, they deserve congratulations in the wake of a deflating 10-5 loss to the Dodgers.
After making it this far, the ending came because the Mets’ tank was empty. Their ace Sean Manaea couldn’t survive the third inning, and the offense -- aside from Mark Vientos’ fifth postseason homer -- just couldn’t get a timely hit against the Dodgers’ army of relievers. The Mets stranded 12, and left the bases loaded twice.
By the third inning the Mets were exactly where they didn’t want to be. Down 6-1, Manaea already was history, and that marked a way too early start for a relief corps that needed to ration as many bullets as possible.
But as we’ve come to expect from this group, they weren’t going down without a fight. Vientos -- who else? -- silenced the crowd of 52,674 in the fourth inning with a two-run blast that sailed over the centerfield wall. Vientos’ shot suddenly cut the Dodgers’ lead in half, and his fifth homer of these playoffs tied him with Mike Piazza and Edgardo Alfonzo for second on the franchise list, behind only Daniel Murphy’s seven. His 14 RBIs are a Mets’ single-season postseason record, and also puts him close behind the career leaders Alfonzo (17) and Gary Carter (15).
Still, it wasn’t enough. There would be no Game 7.
On the eve of Game 6, which would be the biggest test of his young managing career, Mendoza observed the Yankees -- his former team -- clinch their first World Series berth since the 2009 championship club. As Mendoza was glued to those events happening 2,000 miles away in Cleveland, his mind no doubt wandered to the possibility of partying like that with the Mets, on the Dodger Stadium turf, after rallying back from a 3-2 deficit.
“You’re watching it on TV, and it’s like, man, we still have a chance,” Mendoza said Sunday afternoon. “We know we’ve got to win today because there’s no tomorrow for us. But watching them celebrate, it makes you think, because we still have an opportunity.”
Mendoza knew he’d have to be close to perfect in navigating the Mets through their third elimination game of these playoffs -- and second since Friday, when they pounded the Dodgers, 12-6, at Citi Field. The first five games of this NLCS were all decided by four or more runs, only the second time that’s happened in a postseason since the 1965 World Series between the Twins and Dodgers.
Based on two tired pitching staffs, holding the line was going to be an issue in Game 6, and the Mets absolutely needed length from Manaea, the de facto ace they’ve leaned on all season. The Dodgers -- with an injury-depleted rotation -- already planned on their second bullpen game of this NLCS, a dangerous strategy that can feel like Russian roulette this time of year.
As long as Manaea could deliver, the Mets had to like their chances. But on this night, for one of the rare times this season, he was unable to do so. And it wasn’t all that surprising. Manaea was closing fast on 200 innings, a place he’d never been during his nine-year career, and the 32-year-old Lefty looked spent almost immediately. He had put on a brave face in speaking about his condition during Saturday’s workout at Chavez Ravine, but after saying he “hit a wall” in his Game 2 start, the foreshadowing was tough to ignore.
“I'm just trying to push through that,” Manaea said then.
In the first inning, however, the Mets’ worst fears were realized. Manaea labored through 34 pitches as the Dodgers tagged him for a pair of singles before Edman ripped a two-run double inside the leftfield line. Right away, Manaea was on the clock. So much for that desperately-needed length.
Manaea got through an 18-pitch second inning, but he crashed into that aforementioned wall in the third. The signs were painfully evident. Manaea was having difficulty finishing his pitches, and Edman hurt him again in the third inning, this time with a homer after smacking a 92-mph fastball at the top of the strike zone, a spot Manaea typically is able to exploit when at his best.
When Manaea followed up with a walk to Max Muncy, that ended his night -- but not the Mets’ troubles. Mendoza had to start the bullpen merry-go-round much earlier than he’d anticipated, and Phil Maton didn’t make his life any easier by serving up another two-run blast, with two outs, this time by Will Smith, who drilled an 89-mph sinker for a 416-bomb to make it 6-1.
That’s when Game 6 felt like it was slipping away from this 2024 edition of the Miracle Mets. Against a fully-rested Dodgers bullpen, it seemed like a bridge too far for a team that had conquered every October hurdle to that point. Ultimately, the Mets just ran out of heroes, after relying on a roster full of them for the past month.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
