Sean Manaea dazzled for the New York Mets on Tuesday, pitching into the eighth inning as New York moved to within one win of clinching its series against the Philadelphia Phillies. The San Diego Padres took advantage of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ defensive miscues, and their bullpen dominated for four innings to put them a win away from the National League Championship Series.
Wednesday brings a full slate of four games on tap, and we’ll get to the players to watch in each. But first, we go around the horn…
Pete Alonso and Jesse Winker hit solo homers to give the Mets an early lead, but the story of the night was a masterful performance from Sean Manaea, who allowed one run on three hits and two walks, striking out six in seven innings. The Mets can clinch the series over the Phillies with a win on Wednesday. It would be the Mets’ first appearance in the NLCS since they won the pennant in 2015.
Stock up: Sean Manaea
Entering this start, Manaea had never recorded a win in four career postseason appearances, including three starts. In fact, his team had lost each of those four games, including his start last week in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series against Milwaukee. So when he walked off the mound Tuesday after allowing the first batter to reach in the eighth, the Citi Field crowd gave him a much-deserved standing ovation. The lone run on Manaea’s line scored after he exited the game. The lefty dominated the Phillies for most of the night, though he worked out of trouble in the sixth.
After walking the first two batters of the inning, losing his command for a bit, pitching coach Jeremy Hefner visited the mound. When Hefner left, Manaea locked in. He got Bryce Harper to strike out on three pitches, catching him swinging on a first-pitch changeup followed by two sweepers. Against Nick Castellanos, Manaea deployed an 0-2 changeup that was lined to second base for an inning-ending double play. Manaea used his changeup sparingly this season (11 percent), but in that key inning he deployed the pitch perfectly.
Stock down: Phillies offense
The Phillies had some chances early as Manaea hit batters in the second and third innings. Yet Philly didn’t take advantage, flailing or making weak contact against Manaea’s mix of sweepers and sinkers. In the third, Alec Bohm singled but was thrown out trying to advance to second, likely in an attempt to spark the lineup. Philly put up seven runs in a win Monday but has looked flat in the other two games, perhaps out of rhythm after the long layoff last week.
Required reading
The Padres moved a win away from the National League Championship Series, riding a blooper-filled defensive inning from the Dodgers to a big lead, and biting their fingernails down to the cuticle when a Teoscar Hernández grand slam cut the lead to one run. Starter Michael King settled down, though, and the Padres bullpen was almost unhittable, allowing just one runner over four innings.
Stock up: Padres bullpen
The Padres weren’t exactly frontrunners at the trade deadline, but GM A.J. Preller still went all in, because that’s the only speed he knows. He fortified an already-strong bullpen with Jason Adam and Tanner Scott, both of whom are overqualified for the middle innings, which was the point, and it paid off in Game 3. The Dodgers had just one baserunner in the final six innings, with the Padres bullpen taking four of them. This was always the blueprint, and it looks good from here.
Jeremiah Estrada was one of four relievers that held the Dodgers to one hit over the game’s final four frames. (Photo: Harry How / Getty Images)
Stock down: Walker Buehler
His defense let him down, and then it let him down again, so Buehler definitely deserved better. But he was a strike away from getting out of the inning with only moderate damage, and he decided to throw a fastball down the middle to Fernando Tatis Jr, who didn’t miss him. It might have been the worst possible pitch to the worst possible hitter at the worst possible time, and it was the margin of victory. The defense gets a disproportionate amount of the blame, but it really was one of the most unfortunate executions of a pitch that you’ll ever see.
On deck for Wednesday
Guardians at Tigers. 3:08 pm ET, TBS
Series tied 1-1
CLE Alex Cobb (2-1, 2.76 ERA) vs. DET (TBD)
Player to watch: Alex Cobb
The Guardians traded for two players at the deadline, a hitter and a pitcher. The hitter had a .657 OPS, and the pitcher made only three starts. The team wasn’t concerned, though, because they didn’t make the trades for the regular season; it was all about the postseason. The hitter was Lane Thomas, and he’s already had his October moment. The pitcher was Cobb, and the Guardians are counting on him in Game 3. He was an All-Star just last year, but he’s fought blisters in his return from a hip injury this year. Pay attention to his splitter in the early innings — if it’s crisp, that’s a good sign.
Phillies at Mets. 5:08 pm ET, FS1, Fubo
Mets lead 2-1
PHI Ranger Suarez (12-8, 3.46 ERA) vs NYM Jose Quintana (10-10, 3.75 ERA)
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Player to watch: Pete Alonso
Alonso has three hits in the last four games and all three hits have been home runs, two of which gave the Mets the lead. The first baseman has risen to the occasion for New York this postseason and there’s reason to believe he’s got more in the tank. This season against Suarez, Alonso is 2-for-5 with two doubles and four walks.
Yankees at Royals. 7:08 pm ET, TBS
Series tied 1-1
NYY Clarke Schmidt (5-5, 2.85 ERA) vs KC Seth Lugo (16-9, 3.00 ERA)
Where Aaron Judge goes, the Yankees go, and New York desperately needs him to get going. (Photo: Luke Hales / Getty Images)
Player to watch: Aaron Judge
Judge is 1-for-7 with two walks and four strikeouts through the first two games. It’s a small sample size, of course, but that’s the name of the game in the postseason. The Yankees offense revolves around Judge and if he can get going it’ll be the spark plug they need against the Royals.
Dodgers at Padres. 9:08 pm ET, FS1, Fubo
Padres lead 2-1
LAD (TBD) vs SD Dylan Cease (14-11, 3.47 ERA)
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Player to watch: Johnny Wholestaff
If the Dodgers are going to keep their season alive, they’re likely to do it using every man available in a bullpen game. Manager Dave Roberts kept Walker Buehler in to face the Padres a third time through the order, which seemed like a curious move in the modern game, but he did with the bullpen game in mind. It’s all arms on deck, with the season on the line.
(Top photo of Dodgers in dugout: Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)
