LOS ANGELES (AP) — The New York Mets hit rock bottom in late May, the nadir being a three-game home sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Mets fell to a season-worst 11 games under .500 after getting outscored 18-5 in that series, punctuated by reliever Jorge López throwing his glove into the stands after getting ejected and then giving a bizarre postgame interview. The team cut him hours later.
Star shortstop Francisco Lindor called a players-only meeting in hopes of the team turning things around.
Did it ever.
Since June, the Mets have the best record in the majors. They’ve been on a roll in the playoffs, too.
“That’s when the guys got together and we started turning the corner,” rookie manager Carlos Mendoza said Saturday.
After defeating the Milwaukee Brewers 2-1 in a best-of-three NL Wild Card Series, the Mets went on to beat the rival Philadelphia Phillies 3-1 in their Division Series.
Next up is the National League Championship Series against the Dodgers, who took four of six from the Mets in the regular season while compiling baseball’s best record at 98-64. New York won two of three at Dodger Stadium in April, although the Mets got outscored 18-15 in that series.
“They’re a completely different team than we saw,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “They’re playing considerably better. Lindor is back to being Frankie. They’ve just got a lot of confidence, so we’ve got to play good baseball. We have to come with the same intensity, focus and energy that we had this last series.”
Jack Flaherty will start Game 1 for the Dodgers on Sunday against Kodai Senga.
“What they’ve been able to do in the second half, with their lineup, their pitching, their bullpen, it’s a good group, it’s a really good team, and it makes for a good series,” Flaherty said.
It’ll be the first time the Mets and Dodgers meet in the playoffs since 2015, and the first time they square off in the NLCS since 1988, when the Dodgers went on to win the World Series.
“It’ll be fun, that’s for sure,” Mendoza said. “There’s going to be a lot of superstars on that field, two fan bases that are intense.”
The teams played a tense Division Series in 2015, when Dodgers infielder Chase Utley broke the leg of Mets shortstop Rubén Tejada while running the bases in Game 2. Tejada covered second base to try to turn a potential double play as Utley made a late slide. His helmet struck the leg of Tejada, who got upended from behind as he twisted around to corral a wide flip from second baseman Daniel Murphy.
The Dodgers won the game, Utley became public enemy No. 1 in New York — and the Mets took the series in five games.
JAPAN’S INFLUENCE
The NLCS will feature three Japan-born players in Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Senga.
The Dodgers paid a combined $1 billion to sign Ohtani, the two-way superstar who isn’t pitching this season while rehabbing from elbow surgery, and Yamamoto, who shut down San Diego for five innings during a 2-0 win in the NLDS clincher on Friday night.
“A lot of great hitters in the lineup,” Senga said about the Dodgers, speaking though a translator. “If I leave a ball over the plate, they’re probably going to hammer it.”
Ohtani hit a tying three-run homer in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Padres, his playoff debut, but was quiet the rest of the series. He is hitting .200 (4 for 20) with four RBIs and three runs scored in the postseason.
During the regular season, he hit .310 and became the majors’ first player with 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season.
Roberts noted Ohtani was facing his childhood idol, Yu Darvish, in Game 5 of the NLDS. Ohtani struck out three times Friday, including twice against Darvish.
“He did chase more than he has. I don’t know if it was the Darvish factor,” Roberts said. “He’s just been more outside the hitting zone than he has in the last six, eight weeks.”
Senga started Game 1 of the NLDS on Oct. 5 and gave up one run over two innings in the Mets’ 6-2 win. The right-hander missed the first 102 games this season due to a right shoulder capsule strain. He made one start and went back on the injured list with a strained left calf.
“My assumption is they’re going to try to get him through three innings,” Roberts said. “I don’t know him very well.”
Senga was asked about the excitement level in Japan for the series.
“I’m not in Japan, so I’m not sure,” he said.
MCNEIL’S POSSIBLE RETURN
The Mets could be getting second baseman/outfielder Jeff McNeil back for the NLCS.
He broke his right wrist when he was hit by a pitch Sept. 6 and missed the rest of the regular season. He was scheduled to play right field Saturday night in his second consecutive tune-up game for the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League.
Mendoza said there’s “a good chance he’ll be on the roster” as long as McNeil remains healthy.
McNeil went 1 for 4 with a walk while playing second base Friday night for Scottsdale.
VESIA INJURED
Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia is “highly unlikely” to make the NLCS roster, Roberts said.
The left-hander pitched one-third of an inning Friday before signaling for an athletic trainer to visit the mound as he warmed up for the eighth inning. Roberts said Vesia has an intercostal “situation,” which could mean he has a strain or tear of the muscles between his ribs.
“Losing Alex potentially is brutal,” Roberts said. “He’s a big part of what we do.”
Roberts said he’s “very confident” Freddie Freeman will be in the lineup Sunday. The All-Star first baseman has been dealing with a sprained right ankle.
AP freelance writer Jerry Beach in New York contributed to this report.