NEW YORK — Carlos Mendoza shook some things up when he submitted the Mets Game 5 lineup card. However, one thing remained the same, and that was Francisco Alvarez behind the dish and batting ninth.

The catcher’s immense struggles this postseason have been well-documented. He entered Friday night 6 for 36 (.167) with zero homers and one RBI in 11 postseason games in 2024. On top of the offensive struggles, there was some defensive miscues — including in Game 3 where he made a costly error on a tapper in front of the plate. Despite everything working against him, his manager opted not to include him of the series of changes he made with his club facing elimination.

And he reaped the benefits on Friday night.

Alvarez has seemingly joined the party with a tremendous performance at the plate in the Mets’ 12-6 win over the Dodgers in Game 5 of the NLCS. The backstop was 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI. Mendoza was counting on Alvarez’s production at some point and as the saying goes: better late than never.

“He’s a good hitter. He’s a good player,” Mendoza said after Wednesday’s loss in Game 3. “We’re facing an elite pitching staff as well. He’ll come through for us. … As of right now, I’m going to continue to ride our guys. They got us here. They will continue to step up.”

Due to his patience, the skipper now has a legitimate threat at the bottom of the order. Alvarez has the ability to change the game with one swing as the slugging catcher appears to have shaken off his struggles in the box

And as displayed by this high-scoring series, the Mets will need all nine guys to keep up with the high-powered Dodgers.

“This is a guy that can change the outcome of a game with one swing,” said Mendoza before Thursday’s Game 4 loss to the Dodgers. “Couple of guys on — and because of the power. He just has to relax here a little bit. But we know the potential there offensively.”

That potential was displayed in stretches throughout the regular season. The 23-year-old was slashing .301/.373/.489 on July 11 but fell into an offensive lull causing his numbers to drop significantly — .711 OPS on the season. The 23-year-old also mashed 25 homers in 2023.

The Mets now head to Los Angeles still with their backs against the wall having to win both Games 6 and 7. They will board their plane with the pleasure of knowing their bottom of the order has suddenly turned into a strength as opposed to forfeited and seemingly inevitable outs with a legitimate force in the nine-hole.

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