3 Mets who look like they’ve run out of gas in the NLCS

The tank reads E for these three.

Championship Series - Los Angeles Dodgers v New York Mets - Game 3
Championship Series - Los Angeles Dodgers v New York Mets - Game 3 / Sarah Stier/GettyImages
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Rather than fill up the tank for the NLCS, these three members of the New York Mets look like they only paid $5 regular. All three had done well (to some degree) up until this point in the playoffs with big games or a big moment. The warning light has come on, though. They need to find a gas station quickly to fuel up before time runs out.

1) Pete Alonso

The Game 3 hero from the NL Wild Card series, Pete Alonso had an okay first round, very good second, and has been mostly absent in the NLCS. He hit .222/.417/.556 against the Milwaukee Brewers then followed it up with a .308/.444/.846 performance versus the Philadelphia Phillies. It appears the journey to the World Series might have lasted one round too many. Alonso is hitting just .133/.278/.133 through the first 4 games against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He hasn’t driven in a single run either.

Alonso was one of the guys who had a chance to benefit most from a big postseason. A free agent at the end of the year, a monstrous performance would have tacked on a few more dollars or at least a couple extra suitors.  It hasn’t been the worst display imaginable from him. What hurts most is seeing him inserted in the center of a starting lineup that has been shut out twice, blown out another time, and in the one game they did win, he wasn’t involved.

When it comes to finger pointing, it’ll be easy to name Alonso one of the culprits if the magic has indeed run out.

2) Jose Quintana

It was bound to happen eventually, right? Jose Quintana finished the regular season strong (outside of his final start) then entered the playoffs riding high. He didn’t give up any runs against the Brewers. The one he did surrender versus the Phillies was unearned. He entered his matchup versus the Los Angeles Dodgers with a 0.00 ERA only to see it launch upward when he gave up 5 earned in 3.1 innings of work.

Quintana met his match. A Dodgers team that has waited patiently against a Mets pitching staff known for throwing balls led to his demise. He walked 4 batters, only struck out 2, and made it almost impossible for a slumping Mets offense to get back into the game.

One could argue Quintana’s run is the most fitting of running out of gas. He was burning dinosaur bones to the point where a collapse was always in the back of our minds. We saw too many weaknesses from him throughout the year to fully buy into the playoff run he was on.

To his credit, the Mets wouldn’t have gotten this far without him. His regular season dominance and pitching performance in the first two close-out games led the Mets to the NLCS. Sadly, it may be the last we see of him.

3) Carlos Mendoza

There are no measurable statistics for Carlos Mendoza to cite. But wow, has he lost his touch. Several decisions made by the Mets skipper have come into question. They haven’t all been so costly. However, it’s clear he is managing things a little too much by the book and not by his gut.

Starting someone other than Kodai Senga in Game 1 might’ve been irrelevant considering the Mets didn’t cross the plate once other than to drag their feet following a strikeout and stroll back to the dugout. Going with J.D. Martinez in Game 3 at DH with no real explanation over Jesse Winker and then again in Game 4 when he had a logical explanation is puzzling. What is Jeff McNeil even doing on this roster? To a lesser extent, is there anything Francisco Alvarez could do to get benched?

None of those decisions really seem to matter in the grand scheme of things simply because the Mets aren’t playing good baseball. They’ve barely hit in the NLCS. The scores have been most irrelevant because about half of the runs are coming against inferior pitchers out of the bullpen.

Mendoza hasn’t had the kind of NLCS that’ll have us questioning why we ever liked him. There are only so many options he could have gone with out of the bullpen or with the starting lineup. Will we see any major change for Game 5? David Peterson is already getting the start over Senga. At least he learned one lesson.

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