Mets are prepared for any NLCS challenge California throws at them

With champagne flying around him celebrating the present and teary eyes hinting at the past, Brandon Nimmo was asked about the future.

Where will Game 1 of the NLCS take place?

“We don’t care. It doesn’t matter,” Nimmo said after the Mets moved past the Phillies and now await the Dodgers or Padres. “Whoever wins this series, it won’t be easy. And none of that is – this series hasn't been easy. The Brewers series wasn't easy. That’s what the postseason is all about.”

Things went well for the Mets on Wednesday, not only because they eliminated the Phillies in four games, but also because the Dodgers assured that their own division series would reach a fifth.

In Game 4, Los Angeles used eight bullpen arms to shut down the Padres, setting up a winner-takes-on Game 5 on Friday that will likely pit Yu Darvish against a top Dodgers arm – either Yoshinobu Yamamoto or Jack Flaherty – which would mean the Mets probably wouldn't see one of the winner's starters until Game 3 of the NLCS.

“We’re going to California,” Steve Cohen said aptly.

The Mets will be hoping for a long and grueling knockout game that will feature every best arm two days before the NLCS begins on Sunday.

Either way, a lefty like Jesse Winker — and possibly Jeff McNeil — should be ready for two teams that combined to use zero left-handed starters in October.

Additionally, who should the Mets root for?

There's no easy answer, but let's break down the cases:

Why they should want the Padres:

Revenge

In the Mets' hellscape that was Atlanta, they defeated demons.

They traveled to Milwaukee and sampled David Stearns' past before taking on the hated Phillies and defeating their division rival.

Maybe this revenge tour can include some revenge in San Diego.

Two years ago, it was Darvish who dominated the Mets in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series before a brilliant Joe Musgrove, who had passed the foreign object inspection required by Buck Showalter, delivered seven scoreless one-hit innings in the decisive Game 3.

Musgrove is out after Tommy John surgery, but Darvish and Manny Machado are integral parts of the club this year.

Matchup reasons

The Padres are crushing righty pitching (a .764 OPS in the regular season) but have struggled against southpaws (.690).

Left-handed pitcher Luis Arraez is a .333 hitter against righties and a .271 hitter against lefties.

Jackson Merrill showed a lot in a great rookie season, but he didn't prove he could handle lefties.

Right winger Xander Bogaerts has strangely failed to identify with lefties this season.

These are trends that should interest Sean Manaea, Jose Quintana and David Peterson.

Because they don't have Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman

Sure, they have Arraez, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jurickson Profar, Machado and Merrill instead, but the core of the Dodgers' lineup is one of the best the game has ever seen.

Even with a broken Freeman, Dave Roberts' group hit everyone – left and right – and no one solved Ohtani.

If the Mets let Ohtani walk, as they often did with Bryce Harper, he could exploit their problem keeping runners on base.

Why they should want the Dodgers

Because the Dodgers are playing empty

The Mets have won just two of six games against the Dodgers this season, but those four losses were initiated by Tyler Glasnow (twice, likely out this season), James Paxton (likely out) and Gavin Stone (likely out). Season).

The club's rotation has been decimated, with the last remaining players being Yamamoto, Flaherty, a Walker Buehler who was a shell of his former self, and perhaps rookie Landon Knack.

A bullpen game saved them on Wednesday.

Follow the Post's coverage of the Mets in the postseason:

The lineup is lethal but limping

Freeman's ankle injury is so severe that he was unable to play in the life-or-death Game 4.

Shortstop Miguel Rojas tried to play through a torn adductor muscle in Game 3 and was pulled in the third inning.

All-Star catcher Will Smith hit in the postseason, posting a .626 OPS in the second half.

The Dodgers' lineup is intimidating, but especially without Freeman, it's easier to navigate than it was earlier in the season.

Because the late magic fueled this Mets run so much, and that would be hard to do against the Padres

San Diego's rotation is excellent, but the bullpen is even better.

Can the Mets turn Robert Suarez (2.77 ERA this year), Jeremiah Estrada (2.95), Jason Adam (1.95) and Tanner Scott (1.75) into the same piñatas that Jeff Hoffman, Matt Strahm and Jose Ruiz were in the NLDS?

“We like our chances against everyone,” Nimmo said. “We’ve been playing really good baseball for four months.”