Sunday, October 14, 2024 • 4:08 PM
Dodger Stadium • Los Angeles, CA
LHP Sean Manaea (12-6, 3.47) vs. RHP Ryan Brasier (1-0, 3.54)
FOX, FS1
The Mets look to bounce back tonight against the Dodgers before the series returns to New York. Jack Flaherty gave the Dodgers exactly what they were looking for yesterday – a deep performance keeping the Mets off the scoreboard. This sets up a bullpen game for the Dodgers, a strategy they used effectively against the Padres in the NLDS.
The Mets, on the other hand, need to right the ship. The offense looked bleak last night, and three critical arms for the team allowed all nine runs (Senga, Peterson, Buttó) over 5 1/3 innings. There’s plenty of series left, and a commanding victory today can make everything better back in New York.
Mets Lineup
- Francisco Lindor, SS
- Mark Vientos, 3B
- Brandon Nimmo, LF
- Pete Alonso, 1B
- Starling Marte, RF
- Jesse Winker, DH
- Jose Iglesias, 2B
- Tyrone Taylor, CF
- Francisco Alvarez, C
Over 32 starts in the regular season, Sean Manaea had a 3.47 ERA, 3.83 FIP, 1.084 WHIP and 114 ERA+. In his two postseason starts, he has allowed three runs over 12 innings and is coming off a sparkling seven-inning outing against the Phillies, where he allowed only one run. Manaea has the following career numbers against the Dodgers:
- Austin Barnes 2-7, BB, K
- Mookie Betts 10-32, 2 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 2 BB, 3 K
- Tommy Edman 1-1, HR
- Freddie Freeman 5-17, HR, BB, 4 K
- Enrique ‘Kiké’ Hernández 1-11, 2 K
- Teoscar Hernández 3-15, HR, 3 K
- Kevin Kiermaier 1-7, 4 K
- Max Muncy 1-6, HR, BB, 2 K
- Shohei Ohtani 2-7, 2 BB, 2 K
- Andy Pages 1-2, 2B, K
- Will Smith 9-18, 2B, BB, K
- Chris Taylor 4-17, 2B, HR, 3 BB, 7 K
Opposing Lineup
- Shohei Ohtani, DH
- Mookie Betts, RF
- Teoscar Hernández, LF
- Freddie Freeman, 1B
- Will Smith, C
- Tommy Edman, SS
- Max Muncy, 3B
- Kiké Hernández, 2B
- Andy Pages, CF
Ryan Brasier will start things off for the Dodgers this afternoon. Over 29 games in the regular season, he pitched 28 innings with a 3.54 ERA, 3.11 FIP, 0.964 WHIP and 110 ERA+. He has pitched in three games so far in the postseason. He threw 1 2/3 innings in Game One of the NLDS, allowing zero runs and a hit. In his second outing, he allowed two runs on two hits, including a home run, in 2/3 of an inning. He was the opener in the fourth game of the series and didn’t allow anything over 1 1/3 innings. All of this tells us that if Brasier is effective in the first inning, the Dodgers will run him out there for another and pull him when the matchup makes sense to do so. Also, if he’s ineffective, they won’t feel obligated to have him complete the inning. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:
- Pete Alonso 0-5, BB
- Harrison Bader 0-2, 2 K
- Francisco Lindor 1-5, K
- Starling Marte 1-2, HR
- Jeff McNeil 2-4, 2B
- Brandon Nimmo 1-1, 2B
- Jesse Winker 0-2
Game Notes
- Brandon Nimmo commented after Sunday’s game that his plantar fasciitis (which he’s been dealing with since May) started acting up on him in the NLDS. He has no plans of missing any playoff games.
- According to SNY‘s Andy Martino, things remain in flux regarding Kodai Senga‘s next start. There is no decision whether he will start a potential Game 5, but there also isn’t a decision whether he will be removed from the roster as well as of Monday.
- Game 3 starter Luis Severino is flying ahead of the team back to New York in preparation for Wednesday’s start.
Three Things To Watch For
- The Mets love hitting bullpens. Sunday night, the Mets had two hits and two walks over seven innings against Flaherty. The first reliever allowed a hit and a walk (the Mets couldn’t do anything with it). Throughout this postseason, as soon as the Mets have chased the starter out of the game, they’ve been able to create big, cascading innings with crooked numbers on the scoreboard. Today is the ultimate test of this; can the Mets make this happen in a bullpen game?
- Stealing bases. We relearned during the last regular season series in Milwaukee that stealing on the Mets is a great way to throw them off the game. The Mets are facing one of the best base stealers in the league this series, Shohei Ohtani. Alvarez caught him on Sunday night. With a massive lead early on Sunday, the Dodgers didn’t need to steal bases. What happens tonight if the game is closer? Can the Mets stop them?
- Hitting with runners in scoring position. In the NLDS, the Mets got into trouble, allowing the Phillies to get multiple runners on. They worked out of jams and kept the damage to a minimum. However, the Dodgers on Sunday night went 5-for-11 with RISP, leading to the lopsided score. The Mets went 0-for-3, a collective failing we’ve seen the Mets flirt with before.
Let’s go Mets!
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