The Mets will look to even the National League Championship Series against the Dodgers on Thursday after getting shut out in Game 3 for the second time in three games. For inspiration, they could look to the 1960 World Series. The Pirates beat the Yankees in seven games, the series famously ending on a Bill Mazeroski walk-off home run. Lesser known about that series is that the Yankees won their three games by scores of 16-3, 10-0, and 12-0. The Pirates won theirs 6-4, 3-2, 5-2, and 10-9 in Game 7 on the Mazeroski blast.
So win a close game Thursday and I’m sure Mets fans will remain calm when Game 5 is a Dodgers blowout. Right? Anyway, here are four storylines for Game 4.
Boom or Bust?
Which Mets offense shows up? The one that broke out for seven runs on 11 hits in Game 2 or the bats that produced seven harmless singles while getting shutout in Games 1 and 3? Carlos Mendoza has some slumping starters but said he plans to stick with them. Does he really have a choice? Francisco Alvarez is 5-for-35 in the playoffs, but Luis Torrens hasn’t swung the bat in a game since Sept. 30 and he went 6-for-49 in August and September. Jeff McNeil‘s last hit was on Sept. 3. Luisangel Acuña‘s was on Sept. 24 and he has 42 career MLB at-bats. Jesse Winker vs. J.D. Martinez is debatable.
Can Quintana Keep Quieting Bats?
Can 35-year-oldJose Quintana stay hot? The lefty had a 4.27 ERA entering September when he flipped a switch. He tossed 25 innings covering four starts while pitching to a 0.72 ERA and kept it going in the playoffs. He’s thrown 11 innings without allowing an earned run in two postseason games. He was the starter when Pete Alonso hit the biggest home run of his career and when Francisco Lindor hit the grand slam that sent the Phillies home. Maybe Quintana has the magic touch.
Can Anyone Stop This Man?
Shohei Ohtani has 17 hits in his last 20 at-bats with runners in scoring position. This is, of course, insane. I am grateful the Dodgers continue to bat him leadoff, assuring he bats at least once a game with no one on base. According to StatsPerform, this is the most hits by any player over any span of 20 at-bats with runners in scoring position over the last 50 years.
Look Who We Have Here
Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto spurned the Mets for Los Angeles in the offseason, reportedly rejecting the same money to play in Southern California. Now, he returns to face a hostile Citi Field crowd. Though, you wonder how hostile a crowd can be when it is peppered with people in Grimace costumes. Still, the Mets are 13-3 at Citi Field in September and October and haven’t lost on consecutive nights at home since July 28. The home crowd will give him all he can handle.
