The Mets uncover this crass Dodgers mess

LOS ANGELES – The Ohtani Dodgers have history, positivity and fame, and that's a lot. But this Mets mojo is something different.

The Mets can't compete with this jubilant, savvy Dodgers band when it comes to star power or Q rating. However, they're proving tough in New York, and in the end that might be enough.

No one, but no one, expected the Mets to survive well into October. But what they have to offer cannot be evaluated using analytics.

The standard for their magic has not yet been invented.

And it doesn't appear on a stat sheet either.

The Mets are comeback artists. And like few teams before them, they have an unusual ability to take hits.

The favored Dodgers got a shot in the net in Game 1, and the Mets, unfazed and undeterred, bounced back when they needed to, clinching the National League Championship Series after their 7-3 win before another sellout, with a one-game-a-standoff home crowd at Dodger Stadium.

“It was an important game today, especially after the way we played (Sunday),” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “It was a quick turnaround, but that’s what we’ve done all year. We have been punched in the face and continue to find ways to get back up. And it will continue to be that way.”

This game was the opposite of most of October.

The Mets built an early six-run lead on another grand slam (this one from October favorite Mark Vientos) and held on. Embattled Englishman Edwin Diaz got the last four outs through the middle of the Dodgers line, the last three on two-out swing strikeouts by Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernandez and Freddie Freeman. It was a new opportunity for this club that normally likes to play from the back.

It was mostly the Mets. But it was also the Dodgers. As prominent as they are, they still have problems.

They say momentum is only as good as the next day's starter. And unfortunately for LA, they were an anomaly.

With a payroll of over $300 million but a nearly unparalleled ability to get hurt and stay hurt, the Dodgers only lasted until Game 2 of that NLCS before needing what was known as the “bullpen game,” where They had to rely on up to $300 million, nine helpers and constant prayer. The Dodgers had no choice.

The problem for LA is that the Mets are deadly dangerous, as stars Raisel Iglesias, Devin Williams and Carlos Estevez, all casualties from late September and October, can tell. The Dodgers do have a shut-down pener, but that's good for late games, not the whole game.

Los Angeles was supposed to be the league's juggernaut after spending a billion dollars this winter (more than half of which was put aside – their accountants are just as talented as their players). The problem, however, is that almost half of their current payroll is on the injured list.

In particular, they have a veritable who's who of starting players who are injured/out (Tyler Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw, Gavin Stone, Dustin May), not quite ready to return (Tony Gonsolin), or unusable due to inexplicably poor performance ( Bobby Miller). . Therefore, they had no choice but to employ a collection of auxiliary staff. The result was ugly for the home team.

Vientos, whose favorite month remains October, inspired chants of “Let's Go Mets” from the small but vocal contingent behind the Mets' first base dugout, while calming the locals. Vientos' drive to right-center field from the second of five pitchers the Dodgers tried (Landon Knack) came after the Dodgers intentionally passed Mets MVP Francisco Lindor, who started the game with a home run that was a near game-winning win for the Dodgers Mets opened.

“I took it personally,” Vientos said of the free pass for Lindor.

Maybe the Mets felt the same way about this opener debacle here. But even after being decimated 9-0 in the first game, the Mets return to Queens with home field advantage and some momentum.

Forget the bigger names on the Dodgers.

Consider the Dodgers’ pitching chaos.

Also consider the Mets' actual resilience and now believe that the Mets have a small and unexpected advantage in this series.

The Mets pulled themselves out of the one-day doldrums by returning to their mostly stellar October form. The Mets generally play with amazing urgency, but one has to wonder if their leisurely pace of travel, which left no room for a day of practice at Dodger Stadium, hurt them in Game 1.

Of course, the Mets can also be granted a single throw on this fantastic journey through the toughest venues in the National League. Since the end of September they have experienced Atlanta twice, Milwaukee twice, Philly, LA and a hurricane named Helene. They endured everything and survived. And now they have the momentum to head back to New York.

No one thought the Mets would be here, but now that they've defied the odds, they continue to make things interesting. It was quite a ride. And who says they can't move on?