Sean Manaea pitched into the sixth inning in Game 2 of the NLCS, something the Mets badly needed after the bullpen threw 6 2/3 innings behind Kodai Senga in Game 1.
But, within that, Manaea said he hit ‘a little bit of a wall’ at the end of that outing.
“A lot of innings so far, a lot of pitches. Really, just the body is a little tired,” Manaea explained. “That last inning, in the sixth, I threw a lot of balls arm side, which hasn’t been typical for me. I couldn’t really get that mind-body connection to make the adjustment. That’s what the wall meant. So yeah, I’m just trying to push through that.”
Understandable for Manaea, who threw a career-high 181 2/3 innings in the regular season, and now has 17 more this postseason – meaning getting into the second inning tonight will put him over 200 total for the first time in his career.
That’s for a guy who had multiple issues with his left shoulder early in his career, leading up to surgery that cost him most of the 2019 season, and has since learned how to push himself further and further.
“I've been doing a lot of things in between (starts) just to recover and recoup from last outing. And I feel we've been able to do a really good job of that,” Manaea said. “I feel great. Going into (Game 6), I feel like I'm ready to go and just ready to give it all I've got. Feeling good with that, and really excited for it.”
The Mets have won both games Manaea has pitched in Los Angeles this season, an April 19 victory and then in Game 2, and he’s hoping ‘everything feels good and pitches are moving how I want them to’ in Game 6 – and with the Mets’ bullpen rested after a day off but still taxed, he’s ready to give whatever he’s got, and then some, to get the Mets to a deciding Game 7, and hopefully a Subway Series.
“I'm just giving it everything I've got. I hopefully can go deep into the game, and that's always the goal for me personally,” Manaea said. “I'm not trying to change anything or do anything more. Whatever I can give, it's what I can do.”