Francisco Alvarez “won’t quit” during Mets’ magical run

The Mets have played 20 games since September 16, with Francisco Alvarez starting 17 of them.

Luis Torrens last started a game on Sept. 30 — the meaningless end of the doubleheader in Atlanta — and hasn't received a nod on a day when the Mets have had just one game since Sept. 28.

It's been two weeks since Alvarez was out of the lineup in a big game – and even that day, he pinch-hit in the eighth inning and made a catch in the ninth.

The Mets' three days of rest between the NLDS and NLCS will be helpful for their pitching staff and for players like Alvarez, but he didn't ask for that rest.

“Baseball doesn't stop, so I'm not going to stop,” Alvarez said before the Mets shut out the Phillies at Citi Field on Wednesday as he started the club's seventh playoff game in nine days.

Maybe that's the advantage of having a 22-year-old ball of energy as your starting catcher.

Alvarez didn't have a strong performance offensively in the postseason, going 4-of-26 with one RBI and nine strikeouts.

He was better behind the plate, where he struck out two runners in 10 attempts and worked well with a pitching staff that owns a 3.06 postseason ERA.

His best moments during the playoffs were small ones — calming down a pitcher or charging at Jose Quintana during the sixth inning of Game 3 in Milwaukee.

Quintana faced a full count against Gary Sanchez with just one second left on the pitch clock.

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Alvarez spotted the clock, snapped out of his stance, and ran toward Quintana, trading a visit to the hill for a possible walk.

On the next pitch, Quintana struck Sanchez out of the game for the final time.

There was some doubt as to whether Alvarez – who was worse than Torrens at eliminating base stealers – would win all the time against fast teams.

Manager Carlos Mendoza declared Alvarez his man, and Alvarez was an integral part of every starting XI.

The Mets will be hoping his power will come in handy at some point in this run. When it comes to excitement, Alvarez hasn't slowed down.

“He’s just an incredible kid,” catching coach Glenn Sherlock said. “He has so much energy. He prepares. He is being treated. He makes sure he's ready to play. He knows what the priorities are in these games. The child is ready.

“When he’s not in there, he’s very disappointed. He wants to be there every day.”