The magic of baseball is that each pitch counts and no recreation is ever actually over. There’s no victory formation, no rubbish time with two minutes left in a 30-point blowout. You probably have outs left, you possibly can string collectively hits advert nauseam and win the sport. However whereas that’s technically true, the sport doesn’t actually work that means in follow. Most video games boil down to some key moments, the place the stakes are heightened and the result is really unsure. Win these moments, and also you typically win the sport.
In Sport 2 of the NLCS on Monday, there have been three such moments. You would use leverage index to let you know that. You would additionally simply watch the sport and rely when there have been plenty of runners on. The Mets received 7-3 to even the collection at one recreation every, but when these three moments had damaged in a different way, the sport might have too.
The primary inflection level within the recreation got here early. The Dodgers went with a modified model of their plan from final Wednesday: a Ryan Brasier-fronted bullpen recreation. Landon Knack got here in for the second inning this time, which is smart to me as an armchair supervisor. The Dodgers have been going to wish a minimum of one less-trusted reliever to throw, as a result of Alex Vesia acquired harm in Sport 5 of the NLDS and was left off the roster for this collection, and Daniel Hudson apparently wasn’t even out there on Monday. Why not get Knack in early, towards the underside half of the Mets lineup, and see whether or not he had it or not? A scoreless outing would set the Dodgers as much as intention high-leverage choices on the prime of the New York order the remainder of the day. A nasty outing? They might pull the ripcord and maintain everybody contemporary. Higher to search out that out within the second inning than the seventh.
As was all the time a danger, Knack acquired into bother shortly. Two hits and a stroll gave the Mets runners on second and third with a two-run lead. With two outs, Dave Roberts deliberately walked Francisco Lindor (affordable, although I wouldn’t have) to load the bases and arrange our first characteristic: Mark Vientos towards Knack with the bases loaded.
When Vientos acquired to the plate, Knack had already thrown 15 pitches and accrued precisely one swinging strike. In whole, he’d go on to garner three whiffs out of 27 Mets swings, a disastrously low ratio. The best-hander’s fastball seemed fairly hittable, so he began Vientos off with a slider down and away. That’s a traditional method to assault a righty batter, particularly one as chase-prone as Vientos, who struggled with strikeouts normally and righty sliders particularly this 12 months. However Knack’s providing was ever so barely low out of his hand, and Vientos laid off.
Knack nonetheless wasn’t concerned with utilizing his fastball, so he got here again with one other slider, this one proper on the backside of the zone. Vientos took an enormous minimize – early. He tapped it foul down the third bottom line. Knack then adopted up with one other slider within the zone, however this one slipped a bit. It was excessive, although not a hanger; it broke away from Vientos sharply, and he swung once more, however too late this time. He punched it foul into the right-field stands.
Vientos was in swing mode. Knack and catcher Will Smith had a fantastic answer: a fastball above the zone. Knack reached again for 96, about as laborious as he can throw, and the pitch ended up so excessive it seemed like a simple take. Vientos nonetheless coated it, fouling it again out of play. It was a kind of swings that bodes poorly for the pitcher; when your opponent makes square-ish contact with a fastball that top, you in all probability shouldn’t throw them any extra heaters.
Knack didn’t want to listen to that twice. With Vientos now swinging freely, he tried to throw a wipeout slider. He overcooked it badly; Vientos was positively on the lookout for an excuse to swing, however this pitch wasn’t one. That made it 2-2, and now the Dodgers had a option to make: slider within the zone, or slider down and away? Knack attacked the zone however, uh, he attacked it with a dangling slider within the higher third. This was positively one of many worst pitches he threw all recreation. Vientos was throughout it – however once more, he was out in entrance and yanked it foul.
Nicely, may as properly return to the low and out of doors nook whereas there’s nonetheless a ball to spare within the rely. That’s what Knack did, nevertheless it was nowhere close to the zone and Vientos took it comfortably. Full rely. Knack had no alternative however to problem Vientos. He aimed for the underside of the zone once more with a slider, however this time he left it proper over the center of the plate. Vientos topped it foul. Sliders simply weren’t working – Knack didn’t have the effective management to place it the place Vientos would chase, and he couldn’t afford to stroll in a run.
That led to the turning level of the sport. Knack and Smith determined that their greatest wager was a fastball. In any case, they’d proven Vientos seven sliders out of eight pitches. Possibly he’d be fooled, or possibly he’d a minimum of be late on it. However wherever Knack was aiming, it in all probability wasn’t middle-middle. Vientos was a hair late, however not by a significant quantity. He smashed the ball to proper heart, with simply sufficient juice to get out:
MARK VIENTOS GRAND SLAM
THE @METS ARE RAKING IN LA ? pic.twitter.com/DIQYRNusVa
— MLB (@MLB) October 14, 2024
To the extent which you could earn any hit, Vientos earned that one. He swung at each pitch that wasn’t an apparent ball and by no means missed. He took two sliders that might have ended his at-bat. He nonetheless had energy when he acquired a fastball to hit. But it surely’s not like he crushed each mistake. Knack simply saved feeding him cookies:
That might have been the final significant pitch of the sport. At 6-0, the inflection level of true blowout isn’t far-off. However the Mets weren’t free and clear. The Dodgers bullpen put up zeroes after the grand slam, and Mets starter Sean Manaea bumped into bother within the sixth: stroll, stroll, muffed double play grounder that as an alternative loaded the bases. The Mets introduced in Phil Maton to place out the fireplace, and after a come out, a single, and a stroll, the Dodgers had the bases loaded once more, down 6-3. Postseason stalwart Enrique Hernández (do you know he hits plenty of homers within the postseason? I’ll wager you probably did in case you’ve been listening to the broadcasts) had an opportunity to show issues round.
Maton usually incorporates a nasty curveball, however he was struggling to find it. The primary one he threw hung up in an 0-2 rely to Tommy Edman, who ripped it previous Pete Alonso for a two-run single. The second bounced in to Max Muncy for a stroll. The third one? That was the primary pitch to Hernández, and it might have been a catastrophe. He put it up there on a platter, middle-middle at 75 mph. Hernández jumped throughout it, however he ripped it foul.
Okay then, no extra curves. Maton turned to his different favourite pitch, a decent cutter. He missed simply excessive to even the rely, 1-1. But it surely had been shut, and what else was Maton going to throw? He got here again with one other one, equally positioned however only a hair decrease. This time, Hernández swung by it. Now it was 1-2, and Maton was within the driver’s seat. His cutter was giving Hernández issues. His sweeper performs properly off of that cutter, notably to righties. Something aside from a curveball appeared like a very good possibility – ideally both above the zone or diving off the plate away.
As a substitute, he dialed up the sort of pitch followers have nightmares about: a dangling sweeper, the least horizontal break of any he threw all recreation, and proper down most important avenue. Hernández was swinging all the way in which, and this was a pitch to hit. However he was early: He punched it to 3rd base, not laborious sufficient to separate the defenders however sufficient that even with a bobble from Vientos, the Mets had time to show two. It required a deft flip from Jose Iglesias and a lunging catch at first base from Pete Alonso, however the Mets escaped with no additional harm. Let’s simply say that the Dodgers in all probability needed a do-over on this fourth pitch:
That may have put the sport away for good, however there was nonetheless one final jolt of drama left. Ryne Stanek bumped into bother within the eighth inning, surrendering a two-out single after which a stroll to carry the tying run to the plate. Carlos Mendoza wasn’t taking any possibilities: He introduced in Edwin Díaz for a four-out save, which meant Hernández had one other key at-bat with the sport on the road.
Díaz isn’t at his peak anymore. Don’t get me unsuitable, he’s nonetheless good, however he’s not computerized the way in which he was in 2021 and ’22. He’d already been victimized by the Phillies this postseason, and scattershot solely begins to explain his command: He’d walked 5 batters in solely three appearances heading into Monday. Hernández was up there with a house run on his thoughts, however certainly at the back of his head, he knew that Díaz may bounce a number of.
The primary pitch was completely excellent, a slider painted on the surface nook. It was a excessive one, tunneled off a fastball above the zone that has been his signature pitch for years, and Hernández wasn’t concerned with swinging at it. The following pitch was a a lot worse slider, bounced within the dust. To make issues worse, the runners each stole and made it simply, amping up the strain. One other ball within the dust might carry dwelling a run. However Díaz has had bother along with his fastball on and off this 12 months, so he caught with the slider.
This time, he break up the distinction, finding simply off the nook low and away. Hernández took an enormous minimize and got here up almost empty, foul tipping it into Francisco Alvarez’s mitt. Certainly, it was time for a waste fastball above the zone. Hernández was leaning out to hit that low and away slider, and he hadn’t but seen Díaz’s fastball. However as an alternative, Díaz dialed up yet one more slider. He reached again deep for this one, throwing it a full two mph quicker than the typical of the three earlier ones. However he additionally left it middle-middle:
Yikes. That’s not the place you need to throw a slider towards a well-known postseason dwelling run hitter. However Hernández didn’t catch it sq.. He acquired beneath it and lofted a lazy fly ball to proper subject, gentle work for Starling Marte.
The Mets tacked on a ninth-inning insurance coverage run. The Dodgers briefly threatened within the backside half after some signature Díaz wildness. However these three plate appearances – which every ended on middle-middle pitches that the opposing hitter swung at – determined the sport. The Mets cashed theirs in. The Dodgers squandered theirs. Typically, baseball is so simple as that.
Odds and Ends
• Everyone knows that Freddie Freeman is harm, however Brandon Nimmo is just too. He’s been coping with plantar fasciitis since Could, in accordance with The Athletic, and he aggravated the damage within the NLDS. He made a wonderful leaping catch within the eighth inning and got here down hobbling afterward. Control him within the subject and on the basepaths; the Mets don’t have sufficient depth to simply substitute him.
• Dave Roberts got here into this recreation planning to deploy his high-leverage arms, however he pivoted after Knack allowed a five-spot within the second. Knack, Brent Honeywell, and Edgardo Henriquez every threw a number of innings, with Anthony Banda chipping in a scoreless body of his personal. That leaves the most effective arms within the Dodgers bullpen absolutely rested for the three-game stretch in New York – and the Mets haven’t seen a single high-end Los Angeles reliever but this collection.
• Pete Alonso stole three bases all season. He manufactured a run within the ninth inning along with his legs, although. First, he took a strolling lead and stole second base standing up. His soar was so good that Marte seen it from the field and stepped away in full take mode – he didn’t need to take any probability that his mind would persuade him to swing. Then Alonso scored on an in depth play on the plate when Marte singled up the center. Not precisely how I anticipated Alonso to influence the sport, however credit score him for seeing a chance and taking it.
• Díaz was all the time coming into this recreation after the Dodgers pulled inside three, however for some time, it seemed like he may get to keep away from dealing with the highest of the Dodgers order. That issues in seven-game collection; you’d desire to cover your greatest relievers from the opposite workforce’s greatest hitters when you possibly can, as a result of the familiarity impact is actual. With two outs within the eighth, it seemed just like the Mets may get away with it. Ryne Stanek wanted to retire Tommy Edman to complete the inning, which might’ve given Díaz the 7-8-9 portion of the lineup within the ninth. However Edman singled and Max Muncy walked, organising the third fateful at-bat from up above. Then two runners reached within the ninth. Ultimately, Díaz needed to face the highest 4 Los Angeles hitters, one thing to remember because the collection continues.