Sean Manaea smothers Phillies, giving Mets the series lead

When Sean Manaea Even though he signed with the New York Mets this offseason, there wasn’t a single fan who expected him to be the pitcher who would bring the organization to within one win of the NLCS. The 32-year-old right-hander was one of the surprises of the season and showed top performances at times. That’s exactly what he did in Game 3 against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field.

On Tuesday, Manaea pitched seven innings, allowing one run on three hits, walking two and striking out six on 91 pitches (65 strikes) in his first postseason win in four career starts (five appearances).

Manaea pitched with a heavy heart on Tuesday when he learned before the start that his aunt had died. He said after the game that when he kissed the sky it was for her. The Mets have had some memorable pitching performances in the past on October 8th (Bobby Jones one-hit shutout in 2000) and this will go down in history as one of them.

So what was the key for Manaea in this game against a strong Phillies lineup? Look no further than his offspeed stuff. Accordingly Baseball expertThe right-hander had more than 13 swings on both the sweeper and the changeup. He had seven missed shots on those pitches and 19 total in the game. They had a hard time hitting the sweeper because the average exit velocity on that field was 71.5 miles per hour.

Like Tim Britton The sportsmanic During the game, he emphasized that the key point for Manaea when he got into trouble in the sixth inning was his changeup. The Phillies got the first two runners on base via walks. With Bryce Harper At the plate, Manaea was able to beat him on three pitches (all offspeed) and used his changeup to get the start.

Even after that emotional innings that ended with one Nick Castellanos After a double play, Manaea went 1-2-3 in the seventh inning and even started the eighth inning. Carlos Mendoza said after the game that the key for Manaea was being confident in his abilities and that he was able to hit consistently with 19 first-pitch hits against the 26 batters he faced.

“When he (Manaea) had to make pitches, he did an incredible job and like I said, he was on offense. Today it looked different, even though we’ve seen it all year, but his striking presence, the way he carried himself, like there was something different about him today, which I’m just proud of.”

While Manaea’s inherited run led to the scoring, our own Mike Mayer noted all the great pitching performances the Mets had that day in baseball history, and the left-hander added his name to that list.

Mets playoff pitching performances on October 8:

2024 Sean Manaea 7 IP, 1 ER, 6 K
2022 Jacob deGrom 6 IP, 2 ER, 8 K
2000 Bobby Jones 9 IP, 0 ER, 5 K
1999 Rick Reed 6 IP, 2 ER
1988 Ron Darling 6 IP, 2 ER, 5 K
1986 Doc Gooden 7 IP, 1 ER, 5 K
1973 Jerry Koosman 9 IP, 2 ER, 9 K

— Mike Mayer (@mikemayer22) October 9, 2024

The fact that Manaea was able to give the Mets 7+ innings allows them to have a nearly rested bullpen with a chance to knock off one of their NL East rivals. While Mendoza doesn’t have to handle this game like it’s an out-and-out win, he now has options depending on how the game goes, knowing that if the worst happens, he’s guaranteed a win on Friday in Philly.

Because Manaea has an opt-out at the end of the postseason, he continues to make more money with each start. He set a new career high for innings pitched in a season (181 2/3) and now he’s pitching like an ace and dueling with one of the better postseason pitchers in recent years Aaron Nola.

Ryne Stanek, who got the final four outs Tuesday, was happy to see Manaea get out of trouble and get a pitch into the eighth inning. “That was really big shit,” said Stanek.

The Mets can’t celebrate yet, but David Stearns can pat himself on the back for taking a risk on Manaea over the winter. This chance definitely pays off for the Mets’ magical run in October.