SERIES SCHEDULE (all times PT)
Game 1: Mets at Dodgers, Sunday, 5:15 p.m., Fox (Ch. 11)
Game 2: Mets at Dodgers, Monday, 1:08 p.m., Fox (Ch. 11) and FS1
Game 3: Dodgers at Mets, Wednesday, 5:08 p.m., FS1
Game 4: Dodgers at Mets, Thursday, TBA, FS1
x-Game 5: Dodgers at Mets, Friday, TBA, Fox (Ch. 11)
x-Game 6: Mets at Dodgers, Oct. 20, TBA, Fox (Ch. 11)
x-Game 7: Mets at Dodgers, Oct. 21, TBA, Fox (Ch. 11)
x- if necessary
Season series: The Dodgers won, 4-2.
TALE OF THE TAPE (OFFENSE)
Mets (NL rank) … category … Dodgers (NL rank)
89-73 (T-2nd in NL East) … Record … 98-64 (1st in NL West)
768 (5th) … Runs scored … 842 (2nd)
.246 (7th) … Batting avg. … .258 (3rd)
.319 (6th) … OBP … .335 (second)
.415 (6th) … Slugging pct. … .446 (1st)
.734 (5th) … OPS … .781 (1st)
207 (4th) … Home runs … 233 (1st)
106 (10th) … Stolen bases … 136 (6th)
TALE OF THE TAPE (PITCHING)
3.96 (7th) … Team ERA … 3.90 (6th)
3.91 (4th) … Starters ERA … 4.23 (10th)
4.03 (9th) … Bullpen ERA … 3.53 (3rd)
1.26 (9th) … WHIP … 1.23 (3rd)
9.08 (3rd) … Ks per 9 inns … 8.65 (6th)
PROJECTED LINEUPS
METS: SS Francisco Lindor (.273/.344/.500, 33 HRs, 91 RBIs, 29 SBs, 107 runs scored), 3B Mark Vientos (.266/.322/.516, 27 HRs, 71 RBIs), LF Brandon Nimmo (.224/.327/.399, 23 HRs, 90 RBIs, 15 SBs), 1B Pete Alonso (.240/.329/.459, 34 HRs, 88 RBIs), DH Jesse Winker (.253/.360/.405, 14 HRs, 58 RBIs, 14 SBs with Nationals and Mets), 2B Jose Iglesias (.337/.381/.448, 4 HRs, 26 RBIs, 6 SBs), RF Starling Marte (.269/.327/.388, 7 HRs, 40 RBIs, 16 SBs), CF Tyrone Taylor (.248/.299/.401, 7 HRs, 35 RBIs, 11 SBs), C Francisco Alvarez (.237/.307/.403, 11 HRs, 47 RBIs)
DODGERS: DH Shohei Ohtani (.310/.390/.646, 54 HRs, 130 RBIs, 134 runs scored, 59 stolen bases), RF Mookie Betts (.289/.372/.491, 19 HRs, 75 RBIs, 75 runs scored, 16 SBs), 1B Freddie Freeman (.282/.378/.476, 22 HRs, 81 runs scored, 89 RBIs), LF Teoscar Hernandez (.272/.339/.501, 33 HRs, 99 RBIs, 84 runs scored, 12 SBs), 3B Max Muncy (.232/.358/.494, 15 HRs, 48 RBIs), C Will Smith (.248/.327/.433, 20 HRs, 75 RBIs), CF Tommy Edman (.237/.294/.417, 6 HRs, 20 RBIs), SS Miguel Rojas (.283/.337/.410, 6 HRs, 36 RBIs, 8 SBs), 2B Gavin Lux (.251/.320/.383, 10 HRs, 50 RBIs)
The Dodgers had mixed results dealing with Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. in the NLDS – Machado was 4 for 21, but Tatis was 7 for 20 with three home runs. Now, they have to figure out how to handle the dynamic Lindor and the powerful Alonso. Both have had big moments already this fall. Alonso’s three-run home run in the ninth inning of Game 3 lifted the Mets past the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Wild Card Series. He kept it going in the NLDS, going 4 for 13 with two home runs and four walks. Lindor was having a quiet postseason until his grand slam in Game 4 of the NLDS beat the Phillies and moved the Mets into the NLCS.
There are plenty of power threats in the Mets’ lineup. Nimmo (23) and Vientos (27) combined for 50 home runs during the regular season. Vientos was 9 for 16 with two homers in the NLDS against the Phillies. The Mets could get a boost if second baseman Jeff McNeil is ready to return for the NLCS. A batting champ in 2022, McNeil (Long Beach State) was nowhere near that level this season (.238 with a .692 OPS) though he did hit better in the second half (.289) before he was hit by a pitch and suffered a fractured wrist on Sept. 6. He used the Arizona Fall League to rehab and could be added to the roster to face the Dodgers.
In the second postseason at-bat of his career, Shohei Ohtani hit a three-run home run. He singled in his next at-bat, but he went 2 for 17 with 10 strikeouts after that. Mookie Betts broke out of his 0-for-22 postseason nightmare with home runs in Games 3 and 4 but was still just 4 for 18 in the NLDS. The Dodgers’ offense somehow clicked without them and with Freddie Freeman playing on one leg. Teoscar Hernandez had a big series (6 for 18, two home runs, 7 RBIs). Will Smith (2 for 16) and Max Muncy (3 for 18) each hit a home run but contributed little else. That should change against the Mets’ pitching. EDGE: DODGERS
STARTING PITCHERS
METS: RH Kodai Senga (1-0, 3.38 ERA, one start during regular season), LH Sean Manaea (12-6, 3.47 ERA,1.08 WHIP, 9.1 Ks per 9 IP), RH Luis Severino (11-7, 3.91 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 8.0 Ks per 9 IP), LH Jose Quintana (10-10, 3.75 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 7.1 Ks per 9 IP)
DODGERS: RH Jack Flaherty (13-7, 3.17 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 10.8 Ks per 9 IP with Tigers and Dodgers), RH Walker Buehler (1-6, 5.38 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, 7.6 Ks per 9 IP), RH Yoshinobu Yamamoto (7-2, 3.00 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 10.5 Ks per 9 IP)
The Mets have so many starting pitching options that they moved two – David Peterson and Tylor Megill (LMU, Los Alamitos High) – to the bullpen for their NLDS against the Phillies. The Dodgers can only look on with envy. They have three starting pitchers – Flaherty, Buehler and Yamamoto – and will ask very little of them. None have inspired a great deal of confidence recently with the unexpected exception of Yamamoto’s five scoreless innings against the Padres in Game 5. They will be on short leashes again in the NLCS with Johnny Wholestaff likely to get a good deal of work.
The Mets might have an abundance of options among their starters (and three left-handers if they start Peterson) but none have been dominant or strike fear in the opposition. Senga made just one start during the regular season due to a shoulder injury but was brought out of mothballs to start Game 1 of their NLDS against the Phillies. He made just 31 pitches in two innings and probably won’t have much more to offer in a Game 1 against the Dodgers.
Manaea, coming off a seven-inning gem in the clincher against the Phillies, will start Game 2. Though he has been better recently (the Mets are 16-4 in his past 20 starts), he has a 1-5 record with a career ERA of 7.09 in 11 games against the Dodgers. Quintana should be more worrisome to the Dodgers. Over his last eight starts, the well-traveled Quintana has allowed just three earned runs in 47⅓ innings (a 0.57 ERA). That includes just one unearned run over 11 innings in two postseason starts. EDGE: METS
PROJECTED BULLPEN
METS: RH Adam Ottavino (2-2, 1 save, 4.34 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 11.3 Ks per 9 IP), RH Edwin Diaz (6-4, 20 saves in 27 chances, 3.52 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 14.1 Ks per 9 IP), LH David Peterson (10-3, 2.90 ERA in 21 starts, 1.29 WHIP, 7.5 Ks per 9 IP), RH Ryne Stanek (7-3, 4.88 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 10.9 Ks per 9 IP with Mariners and Mets), RH Reed Garrett (8-5, 3.77 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 13.0 Ks per 9 IP), RH Phil Maton (3-3, 3.66 ERA, 3 saves, 1.11 WHIP, 8.4 Ks per 9 IP with Rays and Mets), RH Jose Butto (7-3, 2.55 ERA, 3 saves, 1.07 WHIP, 9.6 Ks per 9 IP), RH Tylor Megill (4-5, 4.04 ERA in 15 games, 14 starts, 1.31 WHIP, 10.5 Ks per 9 IP), LH Danny Young (4-1, 4.54 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 11.5 Ks per 9 IP)
DODGERS: RH Michael Kopech (6-8, 15 saves, 3.46 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 11.7 Ks per 9 IP with White Sox and Dodgers), RH Evan Phillips (5-1, 18 saves, 3.62 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 10.4 Ks per 9 IP), RH Blake Treinen (7-3, 1 save, 1.93 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 10.8 Ks per 9 IP), RH Joe Kelly (1-1, 4.78 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 9.8 Ks per 9 IP), RH Ryan Brasier (1-0, 3.54 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 8.0 Ks per 9 IP), RH Daniel Hudson (6-2, 10 saves, 3.00 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 9.0 Ks per 9 IP), LH Anthony Banda (3-2, 2 saves, 3.08 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 9.1 Ks per 9 IP), RH Brent Honeywell Jr. (1-1, 1 save, 2.63 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 4.3 Ks per 9 IP), RH Ben Casparius (2-0, 2.16 ERA in 3 games), RH Edgardo Henriquez (0-0, 1 save, 2.70 ERA in 3 games)
“If you’re talking about a series MVP,” Dave Roberts said after closing out the Padres in the NLDS, “it’s our bullpen, clearly.” He’s absolutely right. The six relievers at the top of Roberts’ “trust tree” – Hudson, Banda, Vesia, Kopech, Phillips and Treinen – combined to pitch 19⅔ innings without allowing a run in the NLDS. They made Roberts look very smart in Games 2, 4 and 5 – the Dodgers’ three wins in the series. But it is “highly unlikely” Vesia will be available for the NLCS after he suffered an intercostal injury in Game 5. His absence is a significant loss.
The Mets’ bullpen has been much less reliable. Their relievers have allowed 11 runs in 25⅔ innings so far this postseason. Edwin Diaz was an unhittable sensation in 2022 with Timmy Trumpet blaring through Citi Field. But he missed the 2023 season after suffering a serious knee injury during the World Baseball Classic that March. He had an uneven comeback season, blowing seven of 27 save chances and briefly losing his status as the Mets’ closer in midseason. He has been shaky at times this postseason as well, blowing a save in Game 2 against the Phillies and walking five of the 17 batters he has faced. EDGE: DODGERS
BENCH
METS: IF Luisangel Acuña (.308/.325/.641, 3 HRs, 6 RBIs), DH J.D. Martinez (.235/.320/.406, 16 HRs, 69 RBIs), OF Harrison Bader (.236/.284/.373, 12 HRs, 51 RBIs, 17 SBs), C Luis Torrens (.229/.292/.373, 3 HRs, 15 RBIs)
DODGERS: IF/OF Chris Taylor (.202/.298/.300, 4 HRs, 23 RBIs, 5 SBs), C Austin Barnes (.264/.331/.307, 1 HR, 11 RBIs), IF/OF Kiké Hernandez (.229/.281/.373, 12 HRs, 42 RBIs), OF Andy Pages (.248/.305/.407, 13 HRs, 46 RBIs)
An All-Star as the Dodgers’ primary DH last season, Martinez signed late with the Mets and didn’t debut until the end of April. He had a poor season and lost DH at-bats to Winker after he was acquired from the Nationals. Still, Martinez gives Mets manager Carlos Mendoza a dangerous pinch-hit option. Acuña (the younger brother of Atlanta star Ronald Acuña) was promoted from the minors and gave the Mets a spark when Lindor was out with a back injury in September. If McNeil is ready to go, though, Acuña will probably be dropped from the roster.
With a big home run in Game 5 on Friday night, Kiké Hernandez reminded everyone what a clutch performer he is. A .238 career hitter with a .713 OPS during the regular season, Hernandez has hit .277 with 14 home runs and an .899 OPS in 75 postseason games. Miguel Rojas is still limited by his strained adductor muscle – giving Dodgers manager Dave Roberts an excuse to move Tommy Edman to shortstop and get Hernandez in the lineup in center field. EDGE: EVEN
MANAGERS
METS: Carlos Mendoza, 1st season (89-73, .549), 1st postseason (5-2, .714)
DODGERS: Dave Roberts, ninth season (851-505, .627), ninth postseason (48-41, .539)
A third consecutive first-round exit would have turned up the heat on the annual calls for Roberts’ head on a platter – and this time the blood lust might have been satisfied. But Roberts made all the right moves to get the Dodgers through the NLDS against the Padres. “I thought he was surgical in Game 4 and Game 5,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said in the euphoric post-game locker room Friday night. Mendoza, on the other hand, is one of two first-year managers in the October cauldron for the first time (Cleveland’s Stephen Vogt is the other). He must have been doing something right – it couldn’t all be Grimace, could it? EDGE: DODGERS
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SERIES PREDICTION
The Mets are the National League’s entry in this October’s “How did they get here?” sweepstakes. They were 21-29 after 50 games and gathering press clippings as a $300 million waste of owner Steve Cohen’s money at 28-37 on June 12 when a soft-tossing right-hander took the mound. McDonald’s marketing character Grimace threw out the first pitch at Citi Field that day. The Mets went out and beat the Miami Marlins and kept winning. Their 61-36 record from that date to the end of the regular season was the best in baseball. They kept the magic going with a win over the Braves on the regular season’s plus-one day to claim the final playoff spot then got miracle Mets moments from Lindor and Alonso in the playoffs. Momentum like that has carried teams to the World Series recently and even won it (the 2021 Braves and the 2019 Nationals come to mind). But the simple fact is the Dodgers have already beaten the best team they will face in the postseason by getting past the Padres. PREDICTION: DODGERS IN SIX