Behind Sean Manaea, Mets take 2-1 NLDS lead with dominant 7-2 win over Phillies at Citi Field

The reinvention of Sean Manaea started with a haircut successful outpouring training. Then, helium dropped his limb slot implicit the summertime and became dominant.

The culmination of his reinvention is unfolding astatine the close time. Manaea carved up the Philadelphia Phillies’ lineup Tuesday nighttime successful the Mets’ 7-2 triumph successful Game 3 of the NLDS. The Subway-riding, chess-playing, world-traveling hurler was ultra-efficient, limiting the Phillies to lone 3 hits implicit 7 shutout innings, earlier helium was charged with a tally successful the eighth.

Phil Maton came successful for Manaea with 1 connected and nary retired successful the eighth and allowed an inherited runner to people earlier giving up a tally of his own.

But by the eighth, the crippled was astir retired of scope for the Phillies, with the Mets holding a 6-0 lead. Lindor made it 7-2 with a two-out RBI treble disconnected Carlos Estévez successful the eighth.

Pete Alonso and Jesse Winker each homered disconnected right-hander Aaron Nola. Starling Marte drove successful 2 immense runs successful the sixth and Jose Iglesias did the aforesaid successful the seventh.

Citi Field was rather the show connected Tuesday night, with astir 45,000 fans clad successful bluish and orangish and a full batch of purple dotting the stands. Grimace is proving to beryllium a fashionable Halloween costume astir the metropolis this year.

Who could person perchance predicted immoderate of this? So overmuch astir the Mets person ever been weird, wacky and unpredictable, but particularly this season. They embraced a McDonald’s mascot, they honored a seasoned named Seymour Weiner and astatine 1 point, sunk to 11 games nether .500.

But this triumph felt wholly predictable. After starting the playoffs connected the road, they were anxious to stock their occurrence with their fans.

When Alonso deed an opposite-field location tally disconnected Nola to pb disconnected the 2nd inning and springiness the Mets a 1-0 lead, the assemblage exploded. It felt similar it was already implicit and with the mode Manaea was pitching, it practically was.

Winker deed a towering changeable to close tract disconnected Nola successful the 4th inning to marque it 2-0. Nola missed severely with a fastball, leaving it belt-high implicit the bosom of the plate.

Nola failed to get an retired successful the sixth, loading the bases earlier the Phillies went to Kerking. Jose Iglesias deed a dilatory roller to Edmundo Sosa astatine 2nd basal and helium nabbed the runner astatine home. But Iglesias was harmless astatine archetypal connected the force, keeping the bases loaded.

With 2 out, Marte deed a enactment thrust to halfway tract to people 2 and enactment the Mets up 4-0.

The Mets loaded the bases again successful the seventh, this clip with 2 outs against left-hander Jose Alvarado. And again, Iglesias came up to the sheet to look the caller pitcher, right-hander Jose Ruiz.

He enactment it successful play, hitting a azygous up the mediate to people 2 more.

Manaea came backmost retired for the eighth, but was lifted aft Sosa bushed the tag connected a crushed shot to 3rd basal for a single. He struck retired six and walked 3 implicit much than 7 innings, the astir helium had ever pitched successful a playoff game.

The fans saluted him with a roaring ovation arsenic helium exited the field.