Mets 12, Dodgers 6 – 2024 NLCS Game 5: Surrendering in the 3rd inning (and then in the 6th) of a closeout game

Chad Moriyama 10/18/2024 Game Recaps Leave A Comment

With the NLCS at 3-1, the Mets had their backs against the wall and they weren’t going to go down easily. They came out and jumped to an early lead behind a 1st inning homer, but the game was still well within reach of the offense. However, Dave Roberts sorta just gave up in the 3rd inning, allowing Jack Flaherty to get shelled and the game to become mostly low leverage the rest of the way in a 12-6 loss for the Dodgers.

Confusing at best.

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Coming off his amazing Game 1 performance to set the tone for the series, Flaherty took the mound again in Game 5 and had an absolute disaster, giving up eight runs in three innings.

Why he was allowed to do that by Dave when the game was still within striking distance after two innings is beyond me, but that’s what happened. He basically conceded a potential clinching game. Dunno.

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What made it more sickening is the bats didn’t give up.

After the Kodai Senga start in Game 1 ended disastrously, the Mets just skipped him and gave the outing to David Peterson from the start. The lineup wasted a second and third with nobody out chance in the 1st, but the Dodgers put together a rally in the 2nd as well, starting with an Enrique Hernandez walk. After two outs followed and the inning looked wasted, Andy Pages flared a broken bat single to corner the runners, and the Peterson uncorked a wild pitch to make it 3-1 Mets. It was at that point Flaherty had his disaster inning.

Anyway, the 3rd passed with just a two-out single, but they rallied in the 4th a bit after Pages hit a solo shot to make it 8-2. A single and a pair of walks followed, which knocked Pederson out for Reed Garrett, but the Dodgers again couldn’t take advantage.

At that point, Brent Honeywell Jr. took over in the 4th, giving up a pair of runs to make it 10-2.

But what made the Flaherty decision even more bitter was the Dodgers rallied off the Mets leverage pen arms, as Garrett stayed in for the 5th, hitting Enrique and walking Max Muncy with one out, then giving up a two-out three-run homer to Pages, his second of the game, to make it 10-5 all of a sudden. That led to Ryne Stanek being summoned to finish the 5th.

Betts then led the 6th off by homering off Stanek to make it 10-6.

For whatever reason, after Honeywell got a clean 5th and with the deficit now just four, Dave left him in for the 6th and he was lucky to only give up another run to make it 11-6. He also got the 7th and continued in the 8th, as Dave I guess just didn’t care that much about winning today.

Anyway, Honeywell gave up another two runs to make it 12-6, then with two outs in the 8th, Dave went to Anthony Banda for the final out for whatever reason. I have no fucking idea what he’s doing today.

Almost mercifully, Stanek got a clean 7th, and Edwin Diaz entered for the 8th then continued in the 9th for some reason to secure a six-out non-save in a win.

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The funny thing is it’s not like people were even calling for him to use the leverage arms. It’s just asking to use Honeywell earlier, or Ben Casparius or even Landon Knack, literally anybody but the guy who clearly had nothing to get Mets batters out.

It’s not like that’s a huge ask or something, as even in the regular season that’s what would happen, and if the Dodgers really need Knack or something in Game 6, then things have already gone terribly wrong there.

From the opposition view.

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At least this was funny?

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NLCS is now 3-2 for the Dodgers.

After an off day, Game 6 is at Dodger Stadium at 2:08 PM HT/5:08 PM PT/8:08 PM ET on FS1. It’ll be a pen game against Sean Manaea.

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