Mets ready for a 'battle of wills' against Ranger Suárez and Phillies in Game 4

NEW YORK — The Phillies had all the momentum heading into Game 3 of the National League Division Series on Tuesday after a comeback, walk-off victory in Game 2. Until the second inning, that is, when Pete Alonso belted an opposite-field home run off Aaron Nola, and the Mets took it right back.

Every one of the Mets’ mythical cast of characters was in the building for Game 3, their first home playoff game since 2022: Seymour Weiner, Grimace and his many copycats, Glizzy Iggy, the Rally Pimp and the playoff pumpkin. But they didn’t need any, and now they’re in position to clinch a series at Citi Field for the first time in franchise history after a 7-2 victory on Tuesday.

“We’re all just big kids, I think,” said Mets pitcher Sean Manaea, who gave up one earned run in seven innings. “When you can have fun and support each other and be boys, really cool, special things can happen. I think that’s what’s happened with the staff, and not just the staff, but the whole team. There’s a lot of silly things that we do, but at the end of the day, it just grows us together. At the end of day, we’re just having fun and trying to win games.”

Said outfielder Jesse Winker, whose solo home run gave the Mets a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning: “We’re just trying to keep it rolling. We’re not trying to do too much, we’re passing the baton at the plate. Our pitchers have gotten us to this point, they’ve carried us all year. Everyone that threw the ball tonight for us threw the ball well.”

The Mets are one win away from their first NLCS since 2015, but the mood in the clubhouse was still muted. Manager Carlos Mendoza emphasized that the process is the same as if they’d lost Game 3 — “we need to come back [Wednesday] and win a baseball game.”

With Ranger Suárez, who has a 1.62 ERA in four postseason starts, on the mound in the decisive Game 4 on Wednesday, Winker knows eliminating the Phillies will not be easy.

“It’s baseball,” Winker said. “The Phillies are a really good team. Sometimes the opposing team puts good swings on balls and makes good pitches. They’re in the playoffs as well. They’re going to keep fighting, and they’re going to come back tomorrow and give us a great game. We’re prepared for it, and we just try to keep going. We know how talented they are. We know how good Ranger Suárez is and everybody that comes in behind him. We’re going to take one pitch at a time and try to get a win.”

The Mets are well aware of how quickly fortunes can change. For every late-inning win in the postseason, there’s been a late-inning loss, in Game 2 of both the NLDS and the wild-card round against the Brewers. But as the Mets showed in Game 3, they have the confidence to punch back.

“It’s a battle of wills tomorrow,” said outfielder Brandon Nimmo. “We’ll see what happens.”