An almost unfathomable amount of drama has transpired since the last time the Mets played at Citi Field.
Hurricane Helene hampered their regular-season-ending six-game road trip, requiring the Mets to make two separate stops in Atlanta, including for a make-or-break doubleheader on the day after the season was supposed to end.
They won an instant classic against the Braves to clinch a playoff spot, then eked out a similarly epic series victory over the Brewers in the Wild Card round, all of which took place in Milwaukee, behind Pete Alonso’s go-ahead three-run home run in Game 3.
Their reward was a trip to the best-of-five NLDS against the rival Phillies. The Mets won Game 1 in Philadelphia in comeback fashion, only to drop a roller-coaster Game 2 there after blowing a pair of leads.
When the Mets finally take the field for Game 3 on Tuesday night, 16 days will have passed since their final regular-season game there on Sept. 22.
“Feels like we’ve been on the road forever,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Monday at his team’s optional workout at Citi Field.
“But the fact that we’re here and we have a great opportunity to not only be back, but playing meaningful games, playoff games here in October in front of our fan base is exciting. It’s awesome.”
The Mets return home with the NLDS tied 1-1 and with both teams set to send studs to the mound for Game 3.
Sean Manaea (12-6, 3.47 ERA) is slated to start for the Mets. The towering left-hander established himself as the Mets’ ace as the season went on, pitching to a 3.16 ERA over his final 17 starts, including a seven-inning, three-run outing against the Phillies on Sept. 21 at Citi Field.
That was one of three starts against the Phillies this season for Manaea, who pitched to a 5.40 ERA across 16.2 innings in those outings.
“They know what I’ve got,” Manaea said Monday. “They’ve got all the scouting reports. They’ve got all the information. So do we. Playoffs are a different beast, and at the end of the day, it just goes down to competing and just throwing your best stuff out there and trusting the guys behind you.”
The Phillies, meanwhile, are giving the Game 3 start to right-hander Aaron Nola, who went 14-8 with a 3.57 ERA this season.
He surrendered six runs in 4.1 innings to the Mets in a Sept. 13 loss in Philadelphia, but he hurled a complete-game shutout against them in Queens back in May.
“I’ve had some good games and bad games here,” Nola said Monday during his team’s workout at Citi Field. “I just always thought it was a beautiful ballpark. I always liked coming here.”
Tuesday marks the latest chapter in a series already featuring two storybook endings. After being shut out for seven innings by Zack Wheeler in Game 1 on Saturday, the Mets rallied for five eighth-inning runs against the Phillies bullpen to steal a 6-2 win.
Then on Sunday, the Phillies erased a 3-0 deficit in the sixth inning and a 4-3 disadvantage in the seventh. They led, 6-4, in the ninth, but Mark Vientos hit a two-run home run to tie it. Philadelphia escaped with a 7-6 victory when Nick Castellanos struck a walk-off single against Tylor Megill in the bottom of the ninth.
Being back at Citi Field represents something of a fulfilled promise for Mendoza, who confidently stated during the Mets’ final regular season series there that they planned to play more games in Queens.
Still, with the Mets in a dogfight for a playoff spot at the time, a sold-out crowd gave a standing ovation to Alonso during that Sept. 22 game, unsure if he would ever suit up there in the home uniform again.
“We’re back, and we knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” Mendoza said Tuesday.
“We had to go through a lot, not only traveling but playing good teams. We needed to get to the playoffs, then advance, and win that Wild Card. But I always have faith in the guys, in the players. We continued to believe. We took it one day at a time, one series at a time, and that’s what we’ll continue to do.”
