Mets deliver a nasty surprise to any Dodger hopes of an easy NLCS

It wasn't a baseball game, it was a hammer blow.

The New York Mets snuck up on the Dodgers in broad daylight on Monday, beat them down, robbed them of their confidence and sent them reeling toward Queens.

After two games, the National League Championship Series has now morphed into something few thought it would ever be, something that should have Dodger fans tying the blue rags around their callous fingers.

This series is now, well, a series.

The Mets created one by storming out of the dugout with bats flying and guns boiling, pressuring Dodger manager Dave Roberts into another controversial playoff pitching decision, trashing the mighty Dodger bats, generally wreaking havoc on an overheated Chavez Gorge and a 7-3 win in Game 2, in which the NLCS tied one game each.

“They beat us back,” Dodgers catcher Will Smith said.

It was a stunning turnaround for a Dodger team that played as if it had non-refundable reservations for the World Series.

Less than 24 hours after it looked like they would be playing in November, it's possible their season could be off this week.

The Dodgers entered the afternoon having defeated their last three playoff opponents by a score of 19-0.

They were down 6-0 before this game was two innings old.

The Dodgers began the afternoon with a pitching staff that had set a major league postseason record with 33 consecutive scoreless innings.

This record lasted all of four minutes.

For a moment you dreamed of a fall classic with the New York Yankees. The next moment, Francisco Lindor of New York's other team went deep in the eighth.

For a moment there were ideas of a parade. The next moment, four Mets were marching around the bases after Mark Vientos' grand slam in the second inning.

In one moment, the quartet of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernández and Freddie Freeman could conquer all. The next, they went hitless in 15 at-bats with eight strikeouts, stranding two runners at game's end with consecutive strikeouts from Betts, Hernández and Freeman.

Particularly gratifying is the fading performance of Ohtani, who is 0-for-19 with the bases empty in the postseason, hasn't recorded an extra base hit in six games, and seems unsettled by his opponents' general refusal to give him anything in the strike zone . Is Superman finally worn out? He'll have at least three games to find out.

Mookie Betts reacts after striking out in the ninth inning of the Dodgers' 7-3 loss to the Mets in Game 2 of the NLCS on Monday.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

And now the seven-game series heads to Citi Field, where only Walker Buehler and his 5.38 ERA stand between the Dodgers and anywhere behind eight-ball in the regular season. By the way, Buehler was last seen destroying the dugout after allowing six runs in Game 3 against the San Diego Padres.

“We know it’s going to be hectic there,” Betts said. “Obviously it will give them a lot of confidence. We have to be ready to play.”

The Dodgers could actually be eliminated from their season at Citi Field if they lose all three games there, but that seems unlikely since they will have their two best starters in Games 4 and 5, two guys who have excellent playoff performances, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Jack Flaherty.

But you never know. After Monday, no one involved in this series can claim to know anything about anything.

Recall, for example, that everyone thought the Dodgers' decision to start a bullpen game instead of Buehler was wise, considering eight Dodgers pitchers beat the San Diego Padres 8-8 in a bullpen game last week. 0 defeated?

Incorrect. Game-changing wrong.

In fact, it might have been a wise decision if manager Dave Roberts had stuck with only using the bullpen.

The game began when Lindor won an eight-pitch battle with reliever Ryan Brasier, sending his 90 mph cutter high over the right field corner wall for a quick run.

Things were still relatively quiet when, an inning later, Roberts strangely replaced Brasier with rookie Landon Knack. It was strange because even though this was called a bullpen game, Knack doesn't normally practice in the bullpen. He's not one of the Dodgers' six star relievers. He is a rookie starter.

Dodgers rookie pitcher Landon Knack reacts after hitting a grand slam against New York's Mark Vientos in the second inning of Game 2 of the NLCS on Monday.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

And Knack looked like a rookie starter as he started the second, giving up a single, a walk and then an RBI double to light-hitting Tyrone Taylor. One out later, after an intentional walk to Lindor loaded the bases, Vientos hit a grand slam over the centerfield wall.

All of this led to the question of the day: What was Landon Knack doing even remotely close to a high-leverage situation in a high-leverage NLCS game?

“I think what was different today was that we don't have (Alex) Vesia. (Daniel) Hudson was down…and that's probably the biggest impetus for having to fend off Knack for a few outs – or knowing you're just not going to finish the game,” Roberts said.

Had to bring in a rookie starter in relief because you don't think you have enough arms to finish the game? What about the real helpers, guys like Blake Treinen, Evan Phillips and Michael Kopech? Shouldn't the Dodgers have played their best right away in a bullpen game where they've already given up a run?

“You’re talking about the second inning,” said Roberts, still defending the call. “So you have a guy on the mound who has to eat up innings.”

What about someone who can devour a victory?

For all their flaws, the Mets' comeback culture is something to appreciate. They started the season 0-5. They were 11 games under .500 at one point. Their postseason at another point was limited to the final two outs. They won in Atlanta on the final day of their regular season and made it to the playoffs. They then defeated the Milwaukee Brewers and the Philadelphia Phillies and stayed there.

You've been here before.

But that also applies to the Dodgers, who previously needed two straight wins to overcome the San Diego Padres, including one in San Diego.

Officially both teams travel to New York on equal terms.

But the Dodgers, clearly and surprisingly stunned after the reality check of a long afternoon, were the uneasy recipients of a nasty sucker punch.