Mets get to know their NLCS opponent after Game 5 of the Dodgers-Padres

How long has it been since the Mets last played the Dodgers?

So long that “OMG” and Grimace were just an acronym and a fictional fast food character the last time the teams played each other.

Back in late May, it would have been hard to imagine that the National League Championship Series was still just around the corner for both of them.

The Dodgers, yes, but the Mets?

This is baseball.

The NL pennant will be decided starting Sunday with Game 1 of the NLCS between the Mets and Dodgers in Los Angeles.

The Dodgers joined the Mets in the NLCS bracket on Friday with a 2-0 win over the Padres in Game 5 of the NLDS.

It's the Dodgers who won three games at Citi Field in May, sent the Mets 11 games under .500 and led to change.

The Mets held a single players' meeting.

Jose Iglesias arrived to help revitalize the lineup – he brought his newly released song “OMG” with him to become the soul of the team.

And after Grimace threw out the ceremonial first pitch on June 12 and the team continued to win, an unofficial team mascot was born.

It will be the fourth postseason series between the coastal rivals.

The Mets won the last game, the 2015 NLDS, on Daniel Murphy's back.

The only NLCS meeting between the teams came in 1988, when the Dodgers surprised a Mets team that had the vision of winning a second World Series in three years.

Now the names are Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Yoshinobu Yamamoto and enough star power to light up Southern California in a blackout.

After weeks of struggling, the Mets found themselves in the unusual position Friday of taking things relatively easy while their postseason opponent in the next round was under the stress.

The Mets held an afternoon team practice at Citi Field before the Padres and Dodgers played Game 5 of the NLDS in Los Angeles.