LOS ANGELES — The leadoff man who has energized the New York Mets all season delivered a much-needed jolt on Monday afternoon. This time, it sparked an effort that has the club heading home tied in the National League Championship Series.
Francisco Lindor opened Game 2 with a home run and Mark Vientos added a second-inning grand slam as New York evened the NLCS at a win apiece with a 7-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Sean Manaea (2-0) gave up three runs (two earned) on two hits over five-plus innings for the Mets, who will host the next three games of the series starting with Game 3 on Wednesday night.
“It was an important game today, especially after the way we played (Sunday),” New York manager Carlos Mendoza said of the Mets’ 9-0 loss in Game 1. “It was a quick turnaround, but we’ve done that the whole year. We get punched in the face and we continue to find ways to get back up. And it will continue to be that way.”
With Los Angeles going with a bullpen game for the second time in its past four contests, right-hander Ryan Brasier (1-1) gave up Lindor’s home run in the first inning to end the Dodgers’ 33-inning postseason scoreless streak that tied a major league record.
Max Muncy hit a home run and Tommy Edman had a two-run single for Los Angeles, which saw its three-game winning streak come to an end.
“It’s a seven-game series (and) we’re not going to let one game affect the way we feel about ourselves, whether it’s at the plate, on the mound or as a team,” Dodgers second baseman Enrique Hernandez said. “We have to go to New York and on Wednesday jump on them early and do what we have been doing the past couple of days. It becomes a best-of-five now.”
On the eighth pitch of the game, Lindor hit a home run deep into the visitors’ bullpen beyond the right field wall. It was his second home run of the postseason.
The Dodgers turned to right-hander Landon Knack in the second inning, with New York taking a 2-0 lead on an RBI double from Tyrone Taylor. Lindor was intentionally walked with two outs to load the bases for Vientos, who hit his grand slam to center.
Vientos now has 11 RBIs in nine games this postseason, one RBI off the club record for a single playoff run held by John Olerud (1999) and Curtis Granderson (2015).
“I want them to walk Lindor in that situation, put me up there,” Vientos said. “And at that point I was just, let me simplify the game, just get one run in, get a walk — whatever I can do to add another run to the score. And luckily, I hit a bomb there and it went over the fence.”
Manaea, who has been resurgent this season following a tweak in his delivery, allowed one hit over the first four innings before Muncy homered leading off the fifth. It was Muncy’s 12th career postseason home run, one off the Los Angeles record.
The Dodgers loaded the bases with nobody out in the sixth inning to chase Manaea. Edman delivered his two-run single with one out against Phil Maton, and Muncy walked to load the bases again before Hernandez grounded into a double play.
“We expect it to be a long series; they’re good,” Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts said. “They’re not a bad baseball team. They didn’t make it here by luck so it’s going to be a dogfight. I mean, I’m going to give them their credit, they are a good baseball team.”
Starling Marte padded the Mets’ lead with an RBI single in the ninth inning.
Edwin Diaz gave up a single to Andy Pages and walked Shohei Ohtani to start the bottom of the ninth. The right-hander recovered with three consecutive strikeouts against Betts, Teoscar Hernandez and Freddie Freeman to secure his second save of the postseason.