Mets stave off elimination with 12-6 NLCS Game 5 win over Dodgers

As erstwhile Mets manager Yogi Berra supposedly erstwhile said, it ain’t implicit ’till it’s over.

It’s not implicit for the Mets aft a 12-6 triumph implicit the Los Angeles Dodgers successful Game 5 of the NLCS. The Amazins’ staved disconnected elimination Friday nighttime astatine Citi Field successful beforehand of a sellout assemblage by yet coming done with timely hitting with runners successful scoring position.

Jesse Winker, playing successful spot of J.D. Martinez astatine DH,  went 2-for-3 with an RBI triple, reaching basal 4 times. Starling Marte, who deed down him successful the sixth spot, went 4-for-5 with 3 doubles and 3 RBI, Francisco Alvarez went 3-for-4 with an RBI double, and Pete Alonso reached basal 4 times, putting the Mets connected the committee successful the bottommost of the archetypal with a three-run homer disconnected right-hander Jack Flaherty.

Despite the score, it wasn’t casual for the Mets to flight this one, and it won’t beryllium casual to triumph 2 much times successful Los Angeles. The Dodgers lineup continues to beryllium a atrocious lucifer for the Mets pitching staff. They instrumentality a batch of pitches and unit the Mets to propulsion successful the zone, which they struggled to do.

Andy Pages deed 2 homers for the visitors, a solo changeable disconnected David Peterson successful the 4th and a three-run moonshot disconnected Reed Garrett successful the 5th that chopped the Mets’ pb to 10-5. Mookie Betts led disconnected the sixth with a solo homer disconnected Ryne Stanek to marque it 10-6.

David Peterson was capable to get the Dodgers to plaything and miss, but not often. The left-hander threw 79 pitches implicit 3 2/3 innings, but lone 39 were strikes. Still, helium mitigated the harm effectively, holding what is rather perchance the toughest lineup successful shot to 2 earned runs connected six hits. He walked 4 and struck retired 3 successful his archetypal playoff start.

Giving Peterson the commencement proved to beryllium the close telephone by the Mets. He was capable to clasp the Dodgers astatine bay portion the Mets gave him immoderate aboriginal tally enactment by going up 3-0 successful the bottommost of the first. The Dodgers chopped it to 2-1 with a tally scored connected a chaotic transportation successful the second, but the Mets responded with a five-run 3rd inning to spell up 8-2.

Facing Flaherty for the 2nd clip successful a week, the Mets took 8 runs disconnected of him implicit 3 innings.

Pages took Peterson heavy successful the apical of the fourth, and erstwhile again, the mediate and bottommost parts of the Mets’ bid responded successful the bottommost of the inning, this clip against right-hander Brent Honeywell. Alonso was deed by a transportation and came location connected a triple to close tract by Winker with nary out. Winker aboriginal came astir to people connected a alert shot by Jeff McNeil to marque it 10-2.

Winker scored again successful the bottommost of the sixth connected different sacrifice alert by McNeil, this clip expanding the Mets’ pb to 11-6.

Finally, Stanek retired the broadside successful bid successful the apical of the seventh. He got 7 outs for the Mets, each of them crucial, mounting the signifier for Edwin Diaz to grounds the last six outs.

After Diaz retired the broadside successful bid successful the apical of the eighth, the Mets scored erstwhile much successful the bottommost of the inning, getting an anxious assemblage excited erstwhile again. They remained connected their feet for the apical of the ninth arsenic Diaz pitched astir a two-out azygous to nonstop the Mets to Los Angeles for different changeable astatine redemption.