NLCS Game 2: Mark Vientos grand slam launches Mets past Dodgers to tie series 1-1 - Yahoo Sports

The Los Angeles Dodgers entered Monday with a chance for a 2-0 NLCS lead and a shot at MLB history.

The Mets put an end to both Dodgers hopes with an early-innings outburst in NLCS Game 2. Francisco Lindor led the game off with a home run, and Mark Vientos followed with a second-inning grand slam to blow open a 6-0 Mets lead. New York held on from there for a 7-3 win to tie the NLCS 1-1 before things move to New York.

The Dodgers entered Monday’s game having pitched 33 consecutive scoreless innings, tying an MLB postseason record. Lindor’s leadoff blast off of Ryan Brasier ensured that the Dodgers wouldn’t secure the record as their own.

Brasier’s day was done after he gave up the single run in the first on a scheduled bullpen game for the Dodgers. The Mets broke the game open in the second with Landon Knack on the mound.

Tyrone Taylor doubled New York’s lead with a one-out RBI double that left runners on second and third. The Dodgers then opted to intentionally walk Lindor to load the bases, setting Vientos up for his heroics.

Vientos battled with Knack to a full count on eight pitches. He then launched a 95 mph fastball over the plate into the center-field stands for a grand slam.

The blast extended New York’s lead to 6-0.

The Dodgers broke through in the fifth inning with a leadoff home run by Max Muncy for the first run scored off of Mets starter Sean Manaea. They added two more runs on a single by Tommy Edman in a sixth inning that was extended by a Jose Iglesias error on a would-be double-play ball.

But the Dodgers stranded the bases loaded in the sixth to limit the damage in their best chance to get back into the game. New York's bullpen kept Los Angeles off the scoreboard for the remainder of the contest.

Manaea picked up the win after allowing three runs (two earned) on two hits and four walks in five innings. He struck out seven. Phil Maton, Ryne Stanek and Edwin Diaz combined for four shutout innings out of the bullpen to secure the win.

Vientos finished the day 2-for-5 with four RBI and a run scored on his grand slam. The Dodgers tallied five hits and reached base eight times on walks but stranded 10 baserunners on the day.

The NLCS now shifts to New York for Games 3, 4 and 5, with the Mets having wrestled home-field advantage from the top-seeded Dodgers. First pitch of Game 3 is scheduled for 8:08 p.m. ET Wednesday on Fox.

The Dodgers threatened in the ninth, but the Mets held on for a 7-3 win to tie the NLCS at 1-1.

Andy Pages led off the inning with a single, and closer Edwin Diaz walked Shohei Ohtani to put two men on with no outs. Then Diaz struck out Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernandez and Freddie Freeman to secure the victory.

The Mets added an insurance run in the top of the ninth on a Starling Marte single that scored Pete Alonso. Edwin Diaz returns to the mound in the bottom of the ninth with his Mets holding a 7-3 lead and a chance to tie the series at 1-1.

The Mets kept the Dodgers off the scoreboard in the eighth, leaving the Dodgers down to their last three outs. Ryne Stanek induced a groundout from Freddie Freeman, then got a nice play from Brandon Nimmo to record the second out on a Will Smith line drive to left field.

Tommy Edman then reached on a single to center field, and Max Muncy reached on a two-out walk, ending Stanek's day. Closer Edwin Diaz came in for the final out and induced a flyout from Kiké Hernández to end the inning with no damage.

We head to the top of the ninth with the Mets holding a 6-3 lead.

Brent Honeywell Jr. gave the Dodgers three scoreless innings in relief to keep the Mets within striking distance, but that sixth-inning rally — the one that ended prematurely, with Enrique Hernandez grounding into a double play with the bases loaded — might have been Los Angeles’ best chance to get back into this game.

We’ll see if the Dodgers are able to turn the lineup over one more time before the end of the game. At the very least, it seems likely we’ll see Edwin Diaz in this one for New York, unless the Mets can add several more insurance runs.

Edgardo Henriquez took over on the mound for the Dodgers and pitched a scoreless eighth inning. The Dodgers will look to cut into their 6-3 deficit with Freddie Freeman leading off the bottom of the eighth.

Ryne Stanek got the job done after taking over for Phil Maton. He struck out Mookie Betts on three pitches, then induced a groundout from Teoscar Hernandez to strand Shohei Ohtani on first and end the inning unscathed. We head to the eighth with the Mets holding a 6-3 lead.

The Mets are making another pitching change with one out and one on in the bottom of the seventh and a 6-3 lead. Phil Maton walked Shohei Ohtani with one out and is leaving the game in favor of Ryne Stanek. Stanek will need to get two outs with Mookie Betts and Tesocar Hernandez up next for the Dodgers.

Brent Honeywell remained on the mound for a third inning in the seventh. He allowed a double to Starling Marte, but no other baserunners. He ended the inning with a swinging strikeout of Jose Iglesias. The Mets hold a 6-3 lead heading into the seventh-inning stretch.

Phil Maton took over for Sean Manaea on the mound with the bases loaded and no outs and immediately induced a popout from Will Smith. But Tommy Edman delivered in the next at-bat with a two-run single into right field.

Tommy Edman drives in two runs! #NLCS pic.twitter.com/Hq7FwFzWOP

— MLB (@MLB) October 14, 2024

Maton then walked Max Muncy to load the bases but got a big double-play ball from Kiké Hernández to end the inning with no further damage. The Mets challenged the double play, but officials upheld both outs on replay review. Mets lead 6-3 after six innings.

The @Mets get a HUGE double play to get out of the jam! #NLCS pic.twitter.com/gRxJvnxMru

— MLB (@MLB) October 14, 2024

Sean Manea's day is done. The Mets starter loaded the bases on two walks and an error with no outs in the bottom of the sixth and leaves the game with a 6-1 lead intact — but under fire.

Manaea induced a would-be double-play ball from Freddie Freeman with runners on first and second, but Jose Iglesias bobbled it for an error and loaded bases.

Freddie Freeman loads the bases thanks to Jose Iglesias’ fielding error.#Dodgers #LADodgers #LetsGoDodgerspic.twitter.com/u4eIeEBhyl

— Whamshki (@whamshki) October 14, 2024

Brent Honeywell got a double-play and a lineout in the top of the sixth to keep the Mets from adding to their lead. Mets maintain a 6-1 lead in the sixth inning.

Crisis averted in the Dodgers dugout. Los Angeles pitcher Brent Honeywell almost stepped on a snake at the top of the dugout steps between innings. Thankfully for Honeywell and the snake, he saw it and avoided stepping on it. Here's hoping our hero staffer found a safe home for the snake.

THERE WAS A SNAKE IN THE DODGERS DUGOUT 😱 pic.twitter.com/AchOtlgNlv

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 14, 2024

New York's shutout is no more. Max Muncy hit a leadoff home run off of Sean Manaea in the fifth to cut the Mets' lead to 6-1. The Mets got out of the frame with no further damage. A lot of work left to do for the Dodgers, but the homer provided the first reason for home fans to cheer in Game 2.

Max Muncy puts the @Dodgers on the board with a solo shot #NLCS pic.twitter.com/bTVXB5B81P

— MLB (@MLB) October 14, 2024

Brent Honeywell took the mound for a scoreless fifth inning as the fourth Dodgers pitcher of the day. He put two men on with a walk and a hit-by-pitch but didn't allow a run. Mets maintain a 6-0 lead in the fifth.

Sean Manaea is cruising. He's up to four shutout innings with a 1-2-3 fourth. Mets lead 6-0 heading into the fifth.

Anthony Banda took the mound as the third Dodgers pitcher of the day in the fourth inning. He allowed a single to Mark Vientos but pitched an otherwise clean inning to keep the Mets from extending their 6-0 lead. Banda had to work, though. He needed 18 pitches to get through the inning, including an 11-pitch strikeout of Pete Alonso.

As good as this Dodgers lineup is, this six-run deficit is going to be tough to overcome for two reasons. For one, Mets starter Sean Manaea looks awfully sharp so far, with Shohei Ohtani in particular looking uncharacteristically perplexed by Manaea’s unusual arm angle, as seen in his two fairly noncompetitive strikeouts in his first two at-bats.

In addition to trying to solve Manaea at the plate, it might be a challenge for this lower tier of Dodgers relievers to keep the Mets from adding on the rest of the way, so that six-run gap could grow further.

The biggest question now is not necessarily whether the Dodgers can come back but how long Manaea can go. If he can complete another seven frames, as he did last round against Philadelphia, and limit the number of looks the L.A. bats get of the Mets’ top-tier relievers, that could prove beneficial for New York later in the series — perhaps in a higher-leverage spot that we’ve yet to see over these first two games.

Sean Manaea struck out Shohei Ohtani for a second time in a 1-2-3 bottom of the third that also got Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernandez out. Manaea's up to six strikeouts in three scoreless innings. Mets still lead 6-0.

Sean Manaea gets Shohei Ohtani again 😳He's got 6 strikeouts through 3. pic.twitter.com/ssmvl1QmVO

— MLB (@MLB) October 14, 2024

The Mets loaded the bases for the second time in two innings against Landon Knack. This time, there was no grand slam. Knack gets out of the jam with a two-out Francisco Alvarez flyout, and the Mets maintain a 6-0 lead in the third inning.

The Dodgers got two baserunners in the second but failed to score off Sean Manaea. The Mets maintain a 6-0 lead after two innings.