MLB playoffs: 3 reasons the Mets believe they can beat the Dodgers

LOS ANGELES – The New York Mets are down 3-2 in the National League Championship Series against the Dodgers and facing two possible road elimination games, but they hardly seem fazed.

Been there, done that.

Remember the Mets' road win that clinched a playoff spot on Monday before the start of the postseason? How about the victory down to the final day, which they earned in the wild card round when Pete Alonso led the Milwaukee Brewers to closer Devin Williams deep in the ninth? New York's subsequent four-game series loss to the Philadelphia Phillies seems disappointing in comparison.

And then came Game 5 of this series on Friday. The Mets struck out Dodgers starter Jack Flaherty for eight runs in three innings, keeping their World Series hopes alive after losing Games 3 and 4 at home the previous two nights.

Now comes her toughest test yet. At Dodger Stadium, with its hostile crowd of more than 50,000 fans, the Mets need two wins against the team with the best record in baseball. In other words, the Mets have the Dodgers right where they want them.

“It wouldn’t be our story if it didn’t go that way,” veteran JD Martinez said with a smile after the Mets’ 12-6 win in Game 5. “That’s how we do it.”

New York is looking to become the ninth postseason team to win Games 6 and 7 on the road – and recent history is on its side: Just last season, the sixth-seeded Arizona Diamondbacks went to the World Series after beating the Phillies twice had Citizens Bank Park.

It may be done. Whether it will happen is another question. Here are three reasons why Mets players believe they can — and will — make it.

1. Your starting pitching “carried us all year”

The Mets will have Sean Manaea starting Game 6 on full rest, followed by Luis Severino if they make it to Game 7. Both have had great success this postseason, especially Manaea. Meanwhile, the Dodgers have a bullpen game scheduled for Sunday, followed by a weakened Walker Buehler, who hasn't won a game in October, in a possible finale. New York could also use Jose Quintana from the penalty area in both games.

“You could argue that one of the main reasons we're here is our starting lineup and their ability to go deep in games,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said this week.

But Manaea, Severino and Quintana didn't look good in their starts against the Dodgers in this series. Combined, they only managed a total of 13 innings in Games 2, 3 and 4. This was their first sign of fatigue this month.

“We also have to understand where we are in the season and where they are physically,” Mendoza said. “You are now in a territory where no one expected it.”

On the other hand, Flaherty seemed to hit a wall in his last outing, and Buehler needed 90 pitches to last four innings in Game 3. Both teams could face gassed pitchers.

All things being equal – workload included – the Mets believe their starting pitchers put them in a good position.

“You have to be able to rise to the occasion and do whatever is asked of you,” outfielder Brandon Nimmo said. “These guys did it. Everyone saw them pitching. There’s so much confidence there.”

“It sustained us all year.”

2. Your deployment has “broken the dam”

It's hard to argue that any offense can compete with the Dodgers, who scored 30 runs in the first four games of this series and added six more in a Game 5 loss. Even without a healthy Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles did a lot of damage. But that’s also true for the Mets — especially lately.

The Mets view Game 4 as a turning point. In a resounding loss, they scored just two goals but had 13 runners reach base. Then in Game 5, they launched a 14-hit attack and scored 12 runs.

“We are capable of putting together games like this, especially when we play from one to nine and don't run behind,” Mendoza said.

This could be more than managerial talk. For one thing, the Mets bottom team is starting to do damage. Catcher Francisco Alvarez, who had nine hits in each game this series, credits a conversation with Starling Marte as a confidence booster.

“He came up to me and told me, 'Hey, be happy,'” Alvarez remembers. “‘Play your game. Don't try to do too much.' But the thing about Marte is that he doesn’t talk too much and I feel like he spoke to me from the heart and I appreciate him doing that.”

Alvarez is fourth in his last five appearances in the series, while Marte has also been hot. Marte, who scored the sixth goal in Game 5, has nine goals in the last four games after going 0-4 in Game 1. On Friday, the Mets' lineup looked just as long as the Dodgers'.

“Preventing your starters from going deep in games and reaching their bullpen is huge, especially in this marathon series,” Alonso said. “And as far as offense goes, that doesn’t happen if you don’t have good hitters. We have them now.”

Nimmo said, “We have broken the dam.”

3. They have “storybook stuff”

The “meme team,” as some like to call the Mets, don’t mind being inspired by Grimace or a lucky pumpkin. It works for them. Some teams show a buttoned-up attitude when they come to work, while others go with the flow. New York definitely falls into the latter category.

“We’re a damn zoo here,” Martinez said. “Would we be the Mets if we weren’t?”

No one embodies that fun – and belief – better than Alonso. The longtime Met may be in his final days with the team — he's a free agent after this season — but he won't let that distract him. In fact, it has kept him grounded and motivated, trying to keep this dream season going for as long as possible.

“This is what we all live and play for,” Alonso said. “This is so much fun. And I think we all just enjoy the moment and try to take advantage of the opportunities.”

“It’s like something out of a storybook.”

Alonso arrived in Los Angeles with the team's playoff pumpkin intact, something the slugger appears more likely to want to talk about than his game-changing home runs this postseason. It is managed with special care.

“White glove service,” Alonso told ESPN with a broad smile. “The pumpkin is almost as well taken care of as the Stanley Cup.”

Alonso keeps the pumpkin in his luggage, but carefully transports it from the plane to the hotel, from the hotel to the bus, from the bus to the clubhouse.

“On the way I brought it back to the hotel because I don't want any clubbers or anyone messing with it,” Alonso explained. “It’s kept safe every day.”

Pumpkins, mascots and “OMG” signs will not be in the batter’s box when the first pitch is thrown in Game 6. But for the Mets, those things are part of who they are. Playing like that, with an unwavering spirit, even when the season is almost always on the line, creates a winning atmosphere. Two win-or-go-home games ago, New York is betting on it.

“That’s something you learn when you’re here for a while,” Nimmo said. “You learn not to panic. If any team can do it, we can do it. We played with our backs against the wall all year long. We have risen to the challenge. Some might say that we are at our best during this time.”