Mets lose NLCS Game 3 2024

NEW YORK — Carlos Mendoza’s solution to the Mets’ second shutout in three games is simple: Run it back.

Not much went right for the Mets in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series on Wednesday at Citi Field, an 8-0 loss to the Dodgers that left the Mets in a 2-1 hole in this best-of-seven series. They didn’t score despite some lucrative chances. Their defense faltered. Each of their three pitchers, Luis Severino, Reed Garrett and Tylor Megill, gave up multiple runs.

But Mendoza has reason to remain optimistic. In Game 1 on Sunday, the Mets looked even less lively, mustering just three singles. Their manager wrote the exact same lineup card the next day and they responded with six runs in the first two innings of Game 2.

Mendoza is hoping for something similar in Game 4 on Thursday.

“The guys there got us to this point,” Mendoza said. “And I’m pretty confident they’ll pull it off.”

If the Mets are to do this, they will need to get the crucial hits that eluded them on Wednesday. With the runners in scoring position, they certainly can’t reach the finish without a goal again. They can’t keep another eight men stuck on the base.

In other words, the Mets can’t ignore dream scenarios like the one that played out in the second inning: bases loaded, Walker Buehler on the ropes, Francisco Lindor at the plate. Although Lindor didn’t say Buehler surprised him with a 3-2 knuckle curve, the fact remains that he swung through the pitch. And the Mets never recovered, failing to move another runner past second base the rest of the way.

“That was the heart of the game,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Obviously the audience was thrilled. They gained momentum. Getting the break ball under the zone and getting a great hitter out was huge.”

So why would the Mets pare back their lineup, given the relative lack of success this starting nine has produced so far in the NLCS? One reason is the desire not to panic, as Mendoza mentioned. On the day the Mets defeated the Braves in Game 161 and clinched a playoff spot, they used a similar lineup to Wednesday’s. Aside from DH, which bounced between JD Martinez and Jesse Winker in October, they have used the same personnel in each of their 10 postseason games.

“From now on, I will continue to drive our boys,” Mendoza said. “They brought us here. They will continue to strengthen.”

The counterargument is that the Mets didn’t have a healthy Jeff McNeil for the first seven of those games, and they didn’t know exactly what condition McNeil would be in coming into this series. Mendoza valued McNeil high enough to put him on the NLCS roster, but not high enough to trade him for Jose Iglesias in Game 3 with two men on base, one out and right-handed reliever Ryan Brasier on the mound in center hit sixth inning.

With Dodgers left-hander Anthony Banda warming up in the bullpen, Mendoza preferred to pitch Iglesias against Brasier rather than McNeil against Banda. It turned out to be the wrong call, as Iglesias grounded into an inning-ending double play.

“I’m ready whenever my name is called,” said McNeil, who retired an inning later in a lower-leverage spot. “It is what it is. These guys got us this far, so I think we can keep up with them.”

McNeil cited his two line drives against Dodgers Game 4 starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto in April as evidence that he would be an excellent addition to the lineup. But Mendoza hinted that McNeil won’t be there, citing Yamamoto’s reverse platoon splits as the reason.

“I felt like I saw the ball well [against Yamamoto]McNeil said. “Personally, I also think a fastball changeup guy is my best guy. It is what it is. I’m not like most batsmen. I feel like I hold onto the ball very well, which is why I can handle transitions – a splitter for him. But yes. We’ll see.”

It’s not just McNeil who will be on the bench on Thursday. Winker, who had reached base in seven of his last 14 plate appearances before Game 3, will likely continue to be sidelined because of Yamamoto’s splits. Mendoza had cited Buehler’s “neutral” separations as a reason to use Martinez on Wednesday. He finished the game 0-2 with two walks.

Then there’s right-handed catcher Francisco Alvarez, who is 5-of-35 (.143) with 13 strikeouts this postseason. Alvarez will be back in the squad on Thursday, Mendoza said, because “he is a good player.”

“He will come through for us,” the manager added.

The Mets need him. They need someone – really someone – if they want their postseason to continue.