3 Mets decisions that cost them a chance to upset the Dodgers in the NLCS

2. The Mets underutilized outfielder Jesse Winker and infielder Jeff McNeil.

The most frustrating managerial decision Carlos Mendoza made during the NLCS was probably his lineups for Games 3 and 4 against righties Walker Buehler and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The roster was built in a way to get their platoon lefties at-bats with favorable matchups.

And it's not like Jesse Winker and Jeff McNeil weren't All-Stars at one point in their respective careers. Winker and McNeil are excellent hitters and should have replaced the struggling J.D. Martinez and Jose Iglesias.

Martinez had been hitting around .200 since the All-Star break while Iglesias had a .485 OPS at the time of his Game 3 start in his first postseason action in more than a decade. Starting those righties against tough righties made no sense, and the Dodgers made both hitters look bad doing so. In Games 3 and 4, Martinez and Iglesias went a combined 2-for-12 with four strikeouts and no extra-base hits; it was not really a surprising outcome, unfortunately.

Why weren't the two platoon lefties used more in games they needed to win if they wanted to translate their miracle season into a pennant? The two lefties were finally in the lineup for Game 5 and what happened? The Mets scored 12 runs and thrilled Citi Field for the first and only time last week.