Francisco Lindor and Mark Vientos push the Mets past the Dodgers in Game 2: Takeaways

LOS ANGELES – The New York Mets flipped the Hollywood script on Monday and tied the National League Championship Series.

With six runs in the first two innings, the Mets confidently beat the previously unbeatable Los Angeles Dodgers and won Game 2 at Dodger Stadium 7-3. Francisco Lindor hit a home run in the first inning, Mark Vientos hit a grand slam in the second and Sean Manaea pitched five outstanding innings – before nearly losing in the sixth inning – as the Mets tied the series at one game apiece before Game 3 on Wednesday at Citi Field.

Except for half an inning, it was a near-perfect reversal of Game 1, as the Dodgers took an early lead and then shut out their opponent's most dangerous hitters.

The Mets followed that path in Game 2. Lindor and Vientos once again set the tone and changed the game in their offense, and Manaea handled five innings with ease before running into trouble in the sixth. The bullpen limited the damage and maintained the lead.

The Dodgers' top five hitters, all All-Stars this season, went 0-for-19 with five walks and nine strikeouts, including Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernández and Freddie Freeman in a row to end the game. The Mets' top five hitters had a record of 0-for-17 with seven strikeouts in Game 1. In Game 2, they posted a 7-for-22 record with six RBIs and five runs scored.

Francisco Lindor set the tone for the Mets by leading off the game with a home run. (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

Mets show their resilience

After a listless loss in Game 1 in which they played their worst game in weeks, the Mets wasted no time getting back on their feet.

The Mets had done this so many times before. Brutal regular season losses were often followed by inspiring victories. Your calling card in 2024 is resilience.

They tend to get back up.

The Mets needed to make a quick statement in Game 2, and it was no surprise when Lindor delivered with a game-winning leadoff home run. After fouling a ball off his leg, Lindor stepped back into the batter's box and hammered a cutter to cap an eight-pitch at-bat. There would be more two-strike hits, another key trend for the Mets this postseason. In the second inning, trailing 2-0, Tyrone Taylor hit an RBI double. Later in the inning, on the ninth pitch he faced, Vientos continued his impressive performance with a grand slam to make it 6-0.

Given Kodai Senga's brutal performance on Sunday, Manaea needed to start strong. He did just that, opening his game with consecutive strikeouts against Shohei Ohtani and Betts. The Mets started Senga on Sunday to give Manaea and Luis Severino (the Game 3 starter) an extra day of rest given the veterans' heavy workloads. Manaea's solid start showed why the Mets thought it was a smart move.

Responding in their usual fashion, the Mets return to Citi Field to showcase more of their starting pitching in the next two games.

The Dodgers' bullpen play isn't paying off

It made perfect sense for the Dodgers to go back to the well with a bullpen game in Game 2. Given their capabilities, a bullpen game was necessary in one of the games in this series, and it was logical to do so in Game 2 – after Jack Flaherty's seven innings in Game 1 and with a day off on Tuesday.

Landon Knack gave up five runs over two innings as the Mets took a 6-0 lead. (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

Where it backfired wasn't the first inning, although Lindor led off the afternoon with a solo shot to cap an eight-pitch batter against Ryan Brasier and stop the Dodgers' scoreless innings streak at 33. The big problem came afterwards

Instead of continuing to use high-impact weapons like they did in Game 4 of the National League Division Series, the Dodgers opted to try and steal some innings on the front end with rookie Landon Knack. A five-run inning, capped by a Vientos grand slam after an at-bat in which Knack left several pitches over the plate, destroyed the Dodgers early.

The Dodgers are missing a key leverage arm in Alex Vesia in this series, making it harder to count outs with pure bullpen arms. Involving Knack in some way was always the plan. But getting just two innings out of him made a 6-0 deficit against Sean Manaea all the more insurmountable.

The Mets bullpen comes through in crucial moments

The Mets' two biggest bullpen acquisitions before the trade deadline were Phil Maton and Ryne Stanek, two right-handers who happen to be good friends. These were buy-low options; Maton had a 4.58 ERA with the Tampa Bay Rays, while Stanek seemed to be the odd man out of the Seattle Mariners bullpen. In both deals, the Mets took money (and, in Stanek's case, parted with a minor league outfielder) because they believed in both pitchers' track records. The team thought both would help in the home stretch.

Fast forward to the NLCS and Stanek and Maton are in familiar places. Late in the game they are again trusted setup options. And on Monday, both got the job done when the Mets needed them most.

Maton inherited a bases-loaded jam in the sixth inning and took over Manaea with no outs. He allowed a two-run single, but that was the extent of the damage. Stanek relieved Maton with one out and a runner on first base in the seventh inning. He struck out Betts and then grounded Hernández to end the inning. Stanek then recorded two outs in the eighth inning before allowing a single and a walk. Edwin Díaz replaced him and won the final.

The Mets lack reliable stopgap options for Díaz, who has been shaky. They have hidden this flaw admirably with good starting pitching. But there will be other games like Monday where the Mets don't get as much length as they want. Then they have to rely on Stanek and Maton.

(Top photo of Mark Vientos' Grand Slam: Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images))