The Mets had been playing de facto playoff baseball for nearly a month before their actual postseason run started, and it has helped them look right at home under the autumn spotlight.
On Tuesday night in Queens, that crucial warmup period, and the October madness that immediately followed, seemed to be paying major dividends for a once plucky underdog that is now on the brink of an NLCS berth.
New York thoroughly outclassed the rival Phillies, considered a trendy World Series pick thanks in part to their deep playoff experience, rolling to an easy 7-2 win in the first NLDS in front of its home crowd in nearly a decade.
The Mets’ playoff resume since the 2015 World Series, the last time the team advanced past the Wild Card round, had been scarce, while Philadelphia came in on the heels of two straight deep playoff runs, including a trip to the World Series in 2022. But in a crucial game three, it was the Mets looking like the team in its comfort zone, unfazed by the moment, and believing it had the superior squad.
After the last week-plus of unprecedented wildness, why wouldn’t they? Better yet, after the last four-plus months?
New York has been one of the best teams in baseball since June, when it began finding its footing while the Phillies scuffled through an extended midsummer malaise. When the two teams last met down the stretch of the regular season, it was the Mets taking three of four, and over the last three games, could it really be said that New York is simply finding ways to beat a better team? Or perhaps the once inspiring underdog story has evolved into one of a group that is reaching its peak as one of the top teams in the National League?
The series isn’t over, and there is still time for the Phillies to flex their October might that has taken them to countless big moments over the past two years. But in three games, the Mets have completed an improbable late-inning comeback in game one, and showed it can get off the mat after losing a similar game by jumping all over Aaron Nola in game three. Meanwhile, Sean Manaea silenced the Philly bats in front of a raucous crowd sensing the fortunes of both teams continuing to turn.
It is the Mets with the rookie manager, but Carlos Mendoza has been pressing nearly all the right buttons in October. Jesse Winker, as expected, got the start at DH against the righty Nola, and crushed a no-doubt home run into the second deck. Pete Alonso, moved up to the cleanup spot before a do-or-die game three against Milwaukee despite slumping badly, cranked his third home run since that move by Mendoza, setting the tone on Tuesday.
All the while, the Phillies bats, owners and witnesses of plenty of October magic, looked feeble at best against Manaea, who went 7-plus innings of shutout ball while striking out six, to set the Mets up beautifully for a potentially clinching game four. At this point, it seems like a given that Mendoza’s group will be ready for the moment. After all, they looked more prepared on Tuesday, and perhaps through this series so far, than their supposed been-there-done-that opponent.