It’s officially do or die for the Mets – lose today and there is no tomorrow, and the same goes for potential games on Sunday or Monday back in Los Angeles.
Down 3-1 to the Dodgers after Thursday night’s 10-2 loss, it’s a quick turnaround for a 5 p.m. start in Queens, and this could be the time where the Mets’ carriage turns back into a pumpkin, and a team that has been playing virtual elimination baseball for a month goes quietly into a Friday night.
Or, as their manager hopes, not.
“I'm not worried about it. The character of this team and the individuals there is impressive,” Carlos Mendoza said Friday afternoon. “I could sense it today. I walk in the hitters meeting today, and we know where we're at, back's against the wall. The attitude. People smiling. That's who we are. There's no tomorrow for us, but we've been in this situation before, so nothing new. That’s a special group in there.”
It’s David Peterson, and not Game 1 starter Kodai Senga, getting the ball to start Game 5, on four days’ rest after spelling Senga in Game 1 and seemingly without restriction after Mendoza said Thursday night he ‘anticipates a regular start.’
And they’re going to need it from a guy who, may have been their ace despite making only 21 starts due to his recovery from hip surgery pushing into the spring.
“Facing an elimination game, he's fully rested. He's been one of our best starters, and we just feel like he's going to give us the best chance,” Mendoza said of the move, adding that Senga will be available in relief if needed.
Peterson has been Mendoza’s Swiss Army knife this October, doing just about everything BUT start; he got the save in Game 3 of the NL Wild Card series, soaked up innings behind Senga in Game 1 of both the Division Series and LCS, and got seven huge outs (and the win) to keep the Mets afloat in Game 4 vs. the Phillies.
One thing he’ll definitely have in the arsenal? A full team ready behind him, knowing that the stakes are high, but this team has consistently gotten going when the going got tough.
“I feel like it's going to be the same. It's gonna be we've gotta win, we've gotta win, and that's the mentality,” said Mark Vientos. “And we're going to play hard until the last out.”