In Pivotal Games Of The LCS, The Mets And Yankees Provided All Sorts Of Thrills

In the span of six hours and 35 minutes on Friday, the New York baseball scene experienced a combination of resilience, tons of clutch moments, some unexpected contributions and help from likely sources.

The scenarios were different for both the Mets and Yankees but in the end both teams got it done in games that bordered from the thrill a minute for an array of hits in a 12-6 win over the Dodgers to a downright struggle to land the plane like Robert Hays sweating profusely in the final scene of the 1980 comedy “Airplane” that ended with the Yankees getting a nail-biting 8-6 win in Cleveland.

For the Mets, the path to the NLCS was a test of resolve in Atlanta and Milwaukee before an impressive four-game NLDS win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Then came their first possibility that a quirky but fun season filled with all sorts of fun novelties and enjoyable games might actually end.

Going into Friday, it seemed like the Mets had run into the unstoppable force of the Dodgers’ peaking at the right time with their offense after consecutive blowout losses where their pitching allowed 18 runs and 22 hits. Except the vibes seemed immaculate aided by the Temptations singing “My Girl” because of the hit song serving as Francisco Lindor’s walk-up song since the Mets began turning things around in June.

Then after the Motown group sang the national anthem the Mets took a 3-0 lead on a clutch homer by Pete Alonso, whom television announcers would like to remind you may be playing his last game as a Met due to his upcoming free agency, but this is the present tense and like anyone associated with the Mets, nobody wants it to end.

It’s not quite “don’t let us win one” like Kevin Millar famously remarked before the Red Sox won the final four against the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS but the Dodgers seemingly did that leaving Jack Flaherty in too long and not going to the higher leverage relievers. Maybe it was because they know there are two chances at home to win one game but the next chance is a pitching free for all (bullpen game) for them and Sean Manaea going for the Mets.

So the 8-1 lead turned into the most stressful 11-6 lead you’ll ever see based on Carlos Mendoza using Edwin Diaz for two innings in a scenario that turned out well since the closer threw 23 pitches to seven hitters.

There were all sorts of cool moments for the Mets from Starling Marte’s four-hit game while wearing a necklace he was given by a 12-year-old fan ahead of the final hit. That was part of a day when he showed bunt on the first pitch he saw in a five-run third, forcing third baseman Max Muncy to play in and then finished the at-bat with a double that whizzed past Muncy to spark the big inning.

It also saw Francisco Alvarez get three hits while shortening his swing, which may have been something from his pep talk with Marte as some fans called for him not to start Game 5.

“Honestly, like, this is fun,” Alonso said. “Being in playoffs, this is fun baseball. This is what every person in baseball works for in the offseason when you’re lifting weights, conditioning, Spring Training and earning your right to be here in the regular season.

“These moments like this, this is what we all live for and play for. So this is such a blast. And I think all of us — we’re just relishing in the moment and we’re looking to capitalize on opportunities.

All of this occurred in a game when the Mets had 19 at-bats with runners in scoring position, saw 144 pitches and did not strike out, marking the 11th instance of a team not striking out in a postseason game and the first time since the Angels did it in Game 2 of the 2002 World Series.

After manager Carlos Mendoza pushed the right buttons to ensure the Mets would take another flight, the Yankees began their roller coaster ride of a game that began perfectly with Juan Soto hitting a two-run homer and Giancarlo Stanton hitting a three-run shot for a 6-2 lead after Cleveland opted to pitch to him with runners at second and third.

Ultimately the Yankees blew the lead but never lost it thanks to the resolve shown by Mark Leiter Jr, who threw 24 pitches after being added to the roster when Ian Hamilton’s calf injury ended his season.

That gave the Yankees enough time to stage a two-run rally in the ninth off Emmanuel Clase, whom they got to Thursday when the closer tried to get the final six outs before Clay Holmes allowed a game-ending two-run homer to David Fry. This time it was not homers by Aaron Judge and Stanton but a small ball type of rally aided by Brayan Rocchio’s second error of the series when he mishandled a grounder by Alex Verdugo, who earlier prevented Jhonkensy Noel from getting an extra-base hit by making a running catch in the left field corner after the lead was down to one run when Holmes faltered again.

About three hours after the Mets displayed their latest phase of resolve, the Yankees did the same to put them one game away from an AL pennant. The last time they were this close to the pennant occurred in 2017 when they won three straight at home to the Houston Astros but lost the final two on the road in an outcome that was later revealed to be due to cheating.

The differences to this time and seven years ago is Stanton was still in Miami, Soto was still in the minors and the Yankees have two home games left in this series if they need them.

“It feels like nothing until we get it done,” Stanton said in his press conference that was shown on the YES Network postgame show after the studio panel rightly praised him for how he has handled everything since joining the Yankees in 2018. “As far as I’m concerned, we haven’t done nothing. We’ll enjoy this for now, but we’ve got to get it done tomorrow and on to the next.”

For now, observers and fans of both teams can appreciate all the twists and turns that Friday provided in high stakes games where you hang on every pitch.