Down 2-1 in the NLCS, the Mets' Carlos Mendoza still has faith in New York's lineup

NEW YORK – When Jeff McNeil's walk-up music played at the start of the seventh inning, the crowd at Citi Field cheered so hard that it drowned out the announcement of a pinch-hitter. Even after McNeil fell behind in the count, 2-0, against Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Blake Treinen, one fan still yelled encouragingly, “Let's go, Jeff!” Then the moment went wrong as McNeil flew out harmlessly. So much for that.

But should McNeil have shown up an inning earlier?

Before things got out of hand in the New York Mets' 8-0 loss in Game 3 on Wednesday night, there was a deciding point in the sixth inning. The Mets had runners on first and second with one out. At that point, the Mets were down 4-0. Jose Iglesias, a right-handed hitter who hit .225 in the postseason, faced right-hander Ryan Brasier, one of the Dodgers' best relievers. In the Los Angeles bullpen, their only left-handed hitter, Anthony Banda, was warming up.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza could have selected McNeil for that spot. The move would have seen Banda come into play. Iglesias' place in the order should be followed by Tyrone Taylor and Francisco Alvarez – both right-handed hitters. The possible decision fell on the duel between Iglesias and Braiser or McNeil and Banda. Mendoza ended up sticking with Iglesias, who grounded into an inning-ending double play.

The crowd at Citi Field rose to its feet for Jeff McNeil's attack, although there is an argument that he should have been there earlier in an inning. (Photo: Elsa/Getty Images)

And from Mendoza's perspective, there wasn't much of a decision to be made.

“Iglesias has been one of our best hitters with runners in scoring position all year,” Mendoza said. “He had an infield single, a nice line drive right to Mookie (Betts). So I don't think that was a conversation. Maybe for the guys behind him. The left was ready. But not for Iglesias because he knew they had the left-hander ready there.”

The Mets are down 2-1 in the best-of-seven game series and have yet to prove their strength, one of their strengths.

In three games, the Mets were shut out twice.

The situation requires thought. What should Do they do it differently? What may Do they do it differently?

Don't expect much to change for Game 4. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Dodgers' other shiny offseason signing, is scheduled to start on Thursday, and the right-hander has actually fared better against left-handed batters, posting a .526 OPS (.744 OPS against right-handed hitters). Therefore, Mendoza said: “I expect our right wingers to be in the lineup tomorrow.”

Translation: That probably means more of JD Martinez as designated hitter (not Jesse Winker), more of Iglesias at second base (not McNeil), and more of Starling Marte in right field (not Winker or McNeil).

And don't look for a change in Catcher either; Mendoza announced after the loss that Alvarez would start Thursday, although he continued his lull, adding a defensive error with a throwing error during a two-run second inning.

It's hard to take Alvarez out of the lineup, even though he's going 5 of 35 (all singles) in the playoffs and has stranded 10 men on base in the last two games alone. For one thing, Luis Torrens (also a right-hander) hasn't recorded a hit since September 2nd (0-16 since). Plus, pitchers still like to throw to Alvarez, and that's especially true for Jose Quintana, who starts Thursday. In 94 innings, Quintana had a 2.87 ERA when pitching against Alvarez. When throwing to someone else, Quintana has a 4.83 ERA. He last pitched to Torrens on September 28 against the Brewers and failed to get past the fifth inning.

Despite his struggles at the plate, Francisco Alvarez will be the one to catch up with Jose Quintana. (Photo: John Fisher/Getty Images)

Mendoza said Alvarez was “in between” offensively.

“He makes his move too late, which doesn’t allow him to make some good swing decisions,” Mendoza said. “That’s why sometimes you see him take the fastball or play the fastball late and then chase it. This immediately tells you that we have a man who is late to get ready.

“But he is a good batsman. He is a good player. We are also dealing with an elite pitching team. He will be there for us.”

To be fair to Alvarez, he bats ninth; The responsibility for the turnaround does not lie solely with him. Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso and Mark Vientos, the Mets' best hitters, all had deep, hard-hit fly balls on the warning track that led to outs. The Mets caused some traffic on the bases on Wednesday night, and it's plausible that their top hitters will come through again in the end. However, they can certainly use more help from their supporting cast. In the series, the bottom third of New York's order hit .172.

Early in the series, Mendoza made a notable casting change. In the order, he pushed Iglesias from fifth to seventh, where the veteran spent all three games.

For Wednesday's game, Mendoza made another change, choosing Martinez as DH instead of Winker, even though Winker had reached base four times in the previous two games. Right-hander Walker Buehler started for the Dodgers, and although right-handed hitters have hit him well in 2024, left-handed hitters have hit him even better.

When deciding who should play, Mendoza said he considers several factors, including matchups, history, pitch types and more.

The Mets have never used a pinch-hitter in a high-leverage situation in the Series, so McNeil said it's still hard to truly know how difficult it would be to do so against one of the Dodgers' top relief arms. By the time he reached the seventh inning, no one was on base and the Mets were down 4-0. Throughout the game, McNeil said, he was essentially playing manager, preparing to step up whether the opportunity came in the sixth inning, seventh inning or later. He was ready in both innings on Wednesday.

It's questionable when he should have come in, and it may be hard to say what profile he has as a strong bench. But when it comes to how he balances day-to-day results in the postseason with longer track records, Mendoza offered a tip.

“I’m going to continue to drive our guys,” Mendoza said. “They brought us here. They will continue to strengthen.”

(Photo of Francisco Lindor batting: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)