Slaying Grimace wasn’t going to happen on this day, in this house.
The Mets have been a case study in resiliency this year, whether it was rallying from 11 games under .500 in June or receiving a ninth-inning home run from Pete Alonso in Milwaukee to advance in the NL Wild Card Series, so ending this season with a whimper on Friday — without as much as a victory on home turf in the NLCS — wouldn’t have fit the script.
Cold bats thawed and tired relievers pieced together enough outs to rev up the Mets charter for a flight back to Southern California following a 12-6 victory over the Dodgers in Game 5 of the NLCS in front of 43,841 at Citi Field.
The Mets, down 3-2 in the series, will have Sean Manaea on five days of rest to start Game 6 on Sunday in Los Angeles. The Dodgers have not announced their pitching plans.
Alonso was among the Mets offensive heroes on this day with an early three-run homer, but the entire lineup got involved against Jack Flaherty and the Dodgers bullpen. Starling Marte went 4-for-5 with three RBIs as part of the team’s 14-hit attack.
The Mets had scored only nine runs combined in the first four games of the series, but surpassed that figure with Friday’s outburst.
Edwin Diaz recorded the final six outs scoreless after the Mets received a strong relief outing from Ryne Stanek, who allowed only one run over 2 ¹/₃ innings.
Alonso’s three-run homer in the first inning got the locomotive rolling. The blast was Alonso’s fourth in this postseason and first in the NLCS. Francisco Lindor singled leading off against Flaherty and Brandon Nimmo walked before Alonso jumped on a slider and cleared the fence in right-center.
Enrique Hernandez raced home on David Peterson’s wild pitch in the second inning to pull the Dodgers within 3-1.
Follow The Post’s coverage of the Mets in the postseason:
- Mets’ bats suddenly explode and put NLCS pressure on Dodgers
- Mets star, Dodgers outfielder get in heated moment after emphatic bat flip
- Francisco Alvarez gave the Mets everything they’ve asked for in fiery Game 5 performance
- My girl! Temptations perform epic live rendition of new Mets anthem
Peterson had escaped trouble the previous inning by getting three straight outs without a run scoring after Marte misplayed Mookie Betts’ line drive into a double, giving the Dodgers runners on second and third with nobody out.
The Mets seized control in the third, when they sent nine batters to the plate and scored five runs. Marte smashed a two-run double after Alonso and Jesse Winker had walked in succession to begin the inning.
Francisco Alvarez stroked a two-out RBI single that extended the Mets’ lead to 6-1. Before the inning was complete, Lindor tripled in a run and Nimmo singled in another, burying the Dodgers in an 8-1 hole.
Andy Pages homered with two outs in the fourth and Peterson loaded the bases before Reed Garrett entered and threw a sweeper for a called third strike on Freddie Freeman to end the inning.
Peterson, in his first start this postseason — after four relief appearances — lasted 3 ²/₃ innings and allowed two earned runs on six hits with four walks and three strikeouts.
The Mets returned to work in the bottom of the fourth: Winker stroked an RBI triple and Jeff McNeil brought in the team’s 10th run of the game with a sacrifice fly. Alonso started the inning by getting plunked.
Pages’ second homer of the game, a two-run shot against Garrett in the fifth, pulled the Dodgers within 10-5. It was the last batter Garrett faced, as manager Carlos Mendoza signaled to the bullpen for Stanek.
Betts homered leading off the sixth against Stanek to pull the Dodgers within 10-6. The blast was the second in as many games for Betts. But Stanek wasn’t touched for the rest of his outing.
McNeil’s second sacrifice fly of the game brought in Winker, extending the Mets lead to 11-6 in the seventh. Winker was plunked in the inning and was doubled to third base by Marte.
Marte’s RBI single in the eighth gave the Mets their 12th run.