LOS ANGELES — The New York Mets reaching the NLCS was no accident.
Throughout New York’s run to this point in the postseason, they have made responding to adversity part of their team DNA. Whether it was Pete Alonso’s go-ahead homer in Game 3 of the wild-card round against Milwaukee or dropping Game 2 against the Phillies in the NLDS after coming back in thrilling fashion, the Mets haven’t let the emotional highs and lows of a deep postseason run distract them.
So after they got blown out by the Dodgers in Game 1 of this series, there was no reason to believe the Mets wouldn’t respond.
“It was an important game today, especially after the way we played last night,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said after his team’s 7-3 victory in Game 2. “We’ve done that the whole year. We get punched in the face, and we continue to find ways to get back up. And it will continue to be that way.”
The Mets have been led all year by Francisco Lindor, who not only put together his best season since joining the Mets but has also been the team’s vocal leader during their rise to being the best squad in baseball since June 1. And so it was fitting for the player who has been the Mets’ spark plug all year to be the one to get New York off on the right foot on Monday.
The Mets’ shortstop battled Dodgers opener Ryan Brasier leading off the game, and after working a 2-1 count, Lindor fouled off four consecutive Brasier offerings. On the eighth pitch of the at-bat, Lindor got exactly what he wanted, crushing an 89.7 mph cutter 395 feet into the Mets’ bullpen and giving New York the lead before the Dodger Stadium crowd could settle in.
Lindor’s solo homer got the Mets feeling good early and started the Dodgers’ planned bullpen game on a rocky note.
“It all is great when it works well and guys are throwing up zeros, but you’re still facing really good ballclubs,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of his game plan. “And there is a margin that you have to guard against and kind of really appreciate the cost of the next games and not forgetting that this isn’t a winner-take-all game. It’s not a three-game series.”
But the biggest swing of the day for the Mets came off the bat of Mark Vientos. The Mets’ third baseman — who is in the midst of a breakout season, with career highs in every offensive category — has become a driving force for New York’s lineup. In the second inning, New York continued to bring pressure against L.A.’s second pitcher of the night, Landon Knack. The Mets had runners on second and third with two outs and one run already in when they turned the lineup over to get back to Lindor.
After seeing that he was locked in, the Dodgers decided to intentionally walk Lindor and bring Vientos to the plate with an opportunity to do something big.
Vientos, like Lindor in the first, didn’t give in, even after falling down in the count 1-2. He worked his way back to a 3-2 count, fouled off another pitch and then found one he could drive. Vientos hammered a fastball into the right-center-field bleachers for a grand slam, giving the Mets a 6-0 lead.
“I took it personally,” Vientos said of the intentional walk before his slam. “I want to be up there during that at-bat, for sure. I want them to walk Lindor in that situation and put me up there.
“I got Francisco ahead of me, and he hit a homer, so they’d rather take a chance on me than him. But I use it as motivation. I’m like, ‘You want me up? I’m gonna show you. Whatever.’”
Vientos now owns a .378/.410/.676 slash line with three homers this postseason, leading the Mets in nearly every offensive category. Even as one of the youngest guys on the Mets’ roster, he knows every moment could be big in October.
“I’ve been a sponge around all these guys,” Vientos said. “Lot of great players I’m surrounded by. I’m very fortunate. I ask a lot of questions, especially in times like this, because I haven’t been in the postseason. I ask them, ‘Hey, how do I go about this?’
“J.D. [Martinez] has won a World Series, and he brings the guys together, and he tells us just to keep our emotions even-keeled, especially when the opponent goes up and we’re down, or vice versa. Because the team that keeps their emotions like that are the ones that come out on top.”
Unlike in Game 1, New York’s lineup found a way to get comfortable throughout Game 2, grinding in at-bats. Lindor, Vientos and an 11-pitch at-bat from Alonso showed that even with a multitude of varied arms coming out of the Dodgers’ bullpen, the Mets have a sustainable approach that could carry through the rest of the series — especially if L.A. has to go with another bullpen game, which the Dodgers likely will.
“There’s a lot of different ways we [can] create and we can attack,” Mendoza said. “Whether it’s not only by hitting the ball out of the ballpark but taking a walk, putting the ball in play, going the other way when we need to just make things happen.
“It’s what makes this lineup a deep lineup. When you’re facing a bullpen day, I think it’s hard to game plan. But you’ve got to go out there, make adjustments and take what the game is giving you. Whether it’s putting the ball in play, moving a guy over, getting a guy in, those are the little things that you have to do to win games in the playoffs.”
After splitting the first two games in L.A., the Mets are feeling good, as they should be. New York will have both Luis Severino and José Quintana ready for Games 3 and 4 before needing to decide if Kodai Senga gets another start following his Game 1 struggles. The Mets clearly have an advantage now, with three straight games in front of their home crowd and the depth of their starting pitching.
“I feel great,” closer Edwin Díaz, who got a four-out save, said postgame. “Getting a W here in L.A., going back home to play three more games there — we’ve got a chance to take the series there at home. So I feel really good. We are really happy.”
