Mets Remarkable Journey Ends; Eliminated By Dodgers In Six Games
The New York Mets were hoping for some of the magic that they have found so many times during their incredible postseason run in Game 6 in Los Angeles on Sunday night. Facing elimination once again, the Mets needed a victory to force a decisive Game 7 in hopes of capturing a National League pennant. Unfortunately, after getting behind big early, the magic couldn’t be rekindled fully, and New York was eliminated thanks to a 10-5 Game 6 loss at Dodger Stadium.
Sean Manaea, the Mets’ ace, got the start, but unfortunately did not have it on Sunday night. After largely stifling the Dodgers in a Game 2 victory, Manaea was not able to make it out of the third inning in his second start of the series. After allowing a Tommy Edman two-run homer, Manaea was removed from the game without recording an out in the third frame. Phil Maton allowed another two-run shot in the frame, adding another run to Manaea’s final line.
In what could be his final start as a Met, Manaea went two innings and allowed six hits, five runs, and two walks. He only struck out two. Despite the lackluster performance, Manaea had a terrific season with the orange and blue, revitalizing his career and validating president of baseball operations, David Stearns, choice to bring him in during the offseason.
By the time Maton let up that two-run home run, the Mets already found themselves in a 6-1 hole. Of course, they did not go away that easily. In the fourth inning, Mark Vientos continued his historic postseason, lining a two-run shot to pull the Mets back within three runs at 6-3.
With the home run, Vientos broke a Mets record for the most RBIs in a single postseason with 14. Despite not getting the end results he wanted, one thing for sure is Vientos is a budding star. If his terrific regular season wasn’t enough (.837 OPS), he followed it up with a postseason that will go down in Mets history.
Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Outside of the Vientos homer, the only other offense the Mets got the remainder of the game was a Francisco Alvarez sacrifice fly in the sixth inning and a Jeff McNeil two-out RBI single in the ninth inning. The unfortunate story of the game for New York was their inability to get the big hit. Specifically, the Mets left 13 men on base, including stranding the bases loaded twice.
Elsewhere, in what may be his final game as a Met, Pete Alonso went 2-for-4 with a RBI. If this spells the end to Alonso’s six-year career with the Mets, he certainly went out with a bang, performing extremely well in the postseason (.999 OPS).
Behind Manaea and Maton on the mound, the Mets used four other pitchers. The best of which was Edwin Díaz, posting a scoreless, two-inning appearance in the game’s fourth and fifth innings. Ryne Stanek also came on, hoping to continue his postseason success, but was unable to register an out before Reed Garrett came in and performed some damage control; allowing only one of Stanek’s inherited baserunners to score.
Lastly, Kodai Senga attempted to pitch the final two innings of the game for New York, but came one out short, being replaced by José Buttó. After a successful seventh inning, things went poorly in the eighth as Senga allowed three runs. After a fine appearance in Philadelphia during the NLDS, Senga struggled mightily in two appearances against the Dodgers. He will be vital to the team’s success in 2025.
That was all she wrote. After Senga’s tough eighth inning, the Mets did tally a run in the ninth, fittingly, but did ultimately see their superb season come to an end with the scoreboard reading 10-5.
Of course, the final result was disappointing. However, this was an extremely successful season for a team that had little-to-no expectations entering the year. It began with a thrilling victory in Atlanta to clinch a playoff berth, was followed by an unforgettable late rally to advance to the team’s first NLDS appearance since 2015, and then punctuated by a beat down of a division rival to advance and get as close as two wins away from a pennant. 2024 was an extreme success, and hopefully one enjoyed by many.
Statistic of the Game: 13 Left on Base
The Mets certainly did not lose Game 6 due to their inability to create chances. New York was able to muster 11 hits against the mighty Dodges bullpen, to go along with six walks, however, only totaled five runs.
You are not going to win many games leaving double-digit number baserunners on, and unfortunately, the Mets found that out the hard way on Sunday.
On Deck
The 2024 season finally came to an end for the Mets after their Game 6 loss. Next up is an all-important offseason led by president of baseball operations David Stearns.
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