Dodgers 10 Mets 5 (Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA)
Series status: Mets lose series 4-2
WP - Ben Casparious (1-0)
LP - Sean Manaea (2-1)
Sv - Blake Treinen (3)
Seat on the Korner:
We select the star of the game and virtually invite him to a Seat on the Korner, just as Ralph Kiner used to do for his studio postgame show on WOR-channel 9 broadcasts in the early decades of the Mets.
Tommy Edman's two homers and four RBI were the death knell for the 2024 Mets, as Los Angeles' 10-4 win punches their ticket to the World Series to face the New York Yankees.
Need to Know
Freddie Freeman, who has been battling an injured ankle, was out of the starting lineup for the Dodgers.
Edman's two run double in the first gave the Dodgers a 2-1 lead, and it was the first lead change in the entire series.
Sean Manaea couldn't come through in Game 6 as he had done so often before. Manaea lasted two innings and change, giving up five runs on six hits (including the two run HR to Edman) and two walks while striking out only two. Manaea threw 64 pitches, 39 of them for strikes.
Phil Maton came in for Manaea in the third and gave up a two run HR to Will Smith which made it 6-1 in favor of Los Angeles.
After Mark Vientos' home run made it 6-3 in the 4th, Carlos Mendoza brought in Edwin Diaz in the bottom of the 4th to face the top of the order to try to keep the Dodgers at bay. He worked around a single to Mookie Betts and stopped the bleeding in the 4th. Diaz would wind up throwing two innings only giving up the single to Betts, striking out one and walking one in 22 pitches.
Kodai Senga appeared in the game and pitched a scoreless 7th, but he gave up three runs to bring the score from 7-4 to 10-4 take away any hope for the Mets in Game 6.
Ben Casperius pitched 1 and 1/3 innings in the 2nd and 3rd and got the win in his 6th ever MLB appearance.
Turning Point
The Dodgers going with Michael Kopech as their opener in the Game 6 bullpen game was interesting. We always talk about setting a tone in a playoff game, but usually it's with early home runs, like Lindor's leadoff dinger in Game 2, Ohtani's leadoff homer in Game 4. And Alonso's three run HR in the first inning of Game 5.
But the Dodgers tried it the other way, by making their hardest throwing reliever their opener. If Kopech gets a 1-2-3 1st, you set the tone and you get the crowd rockin'. But if it doesn't work, the crowd gets taken out of the game, and you have one less "circle of trust" option late in case of a comeback.
Kopech walked Lindor to start the game, and he was obviously a little too amped, throwing only 12 strikes in his 25 pitches in the first. But Kopech getting Starling Marte to fly out on the first pitch with two on and two out to end the inning saved him and the Dodgers.
Then Sean Manaea had a chance to set his own tone after Alonso's hit gave the Mets the lead in the first. But even with Freddie Freeman out of the lineup, Manaea gave up singles to Shohei Ohtani and Teoscar Hernandez and was in quick trouble. Tommy Edman cashed in for our turning point.
Manaea burned 34 pitches in that first inning to erode the advantage the Mets came into the game with with Ace vs Bullpen.
Three Keys
When The Advantage Becomes A Disadvantage
Sean Manaea vs a Bullpen game worked out well in Game 2, so when the Mets got this to Game 6 you thought that Manaea would take the momentum that the Mets gained on Friday and run with it.
But Manaea went changeup heavy in Game 6 and tried to live on back door pitches to get through. But he's had games where those pitches don't make it all the way through the back door to righties, and it not only puts runners on, but elevates his pitch count and allows the Dodgers to sit on the fastball and drive it hard and long.
When OMG Refers To LOB
Game 6 was much like Game 4 in that even though it was a blowout, a big hit here or there could have kept the Mets closer, and even pulled the Dodgers back by changing the mentality of the team. But Marte let Kopech off the hook in the first with two men on and two men out after scoring the first run of the game. Brandon Nimmo popped out with two outs and runners on first and second against Ben Casperius. Then in the third, the Mets loaded the bases with two outs on a single by Alonso, a walk to Winker, and Anthony Banda hitting Tyrone Taylor.
But Banda was able to run the waltz on Jeff McNeil, blowing two fastballs by him and then going to the slider to finish him, and the Mets in the third.
The Dodgers would score four in the bottom of the inning to put the Mets at arm's length. But the Mets would keep coming. Mark Vientos' two run HR in the 4th got them to within three, and then they had a golden opportunity in the 6th as Jesse Winker came up with the bases loaded as the go-ahead run. But Evan Phillips got him to fly out to left to end the last great Mets threat.
The Final Key
I have the final key of the season, which means I get to lock the doors on the 2024 season. I'm not sure it's a task I necessarily wanted, but here goes:
The 2024 Mets are going to go down as the favorite Mets team that didn't win a title for a lot of fans of the younger generation who don't remember 1999 ... and maybe a few that do remember 1999. How can any of us forget Grimace, Jose Iglesias' hit song, Lindor's homer in Atlanta to clinch the playoffs in a game that both teams needed, Pete Alonso's shocking homer in Milwaukee to save the season, beating the favored Phillies and winning the first ever clinching game by the home team at Citi Field, and even winning Game 5 of this series after being taken to the woodshed in Games 3 and 4 ... all in a season which had zero expectations to start, and got out of the gate at 26-35 with a first time manager?
This team in many ways was the anti-Mets. They were a team that won games they've historically lost, exorcising a lot of ghosts that they've carried with them for years. Memories of the collapses of the past were replaced by grit, guts, and lots and lots of fun. Even though it ended sadly, the passing of time will remind us that they got farther than anybody on earth (except maybe the people in the Mets clubhouse) thought they'd go. They lost to the better team in six games, and there's no shame in that. It's a season that not many of us will ever forget. LOL has been replaced by OMG ... and I hope that the general OMG feeling sticks around for a while.
That's what hurts. 2025 will not be 2024. The Mets aren't going to get off the plane in Port St. Lucie singing OMG with Grimace leading the way. It's going to have a different makeup, a different personality, and perhaps more different players than you would expect. With a lot of money coming off the books, you can be sure they're going to go after guys like Juan Soto (who I think they'll outbid everyone for but it might not be enough), Corbin Burnes, and perhaps some pitchers who won't walk the house every night. The good vibes will be replaced by expectations and questions, and the Mets will have to take a different path if they hope to get further in 2025. With all the money coming off the books for the Mets, that hope is certainly possible.
The path that the Mets were on this season was glorious. But it's over, and the Mets were never going to be able to take that path to February. If only they could have taken it another week and a half.
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