Three keys for the Mets to reach the World Series

Three keys for the Mets to reach the World Series

The Mets are scheduled to play Game 1 of the NLCS tonight, the first game of a best-of-seven series that could see them advance to the World Series for the first time since 2015. Let’s take a quick look at three keys to them winning the National League pennant and advancing beyond this series .

Francisco Lindor

When the Mets’ postseason began, we covered the critical role Francisco Lindor played in getting the team there with his outstanding, MVP-caliber performance in the regular season. Having recovered from the back pain that sidelined him for an extended period in late September, Lindor is playing at the same level, if not better, than he was before the playoffs.

Lindor’s huge home run in Atlanta’s dramatic playoff game and Game 4 of the NLDS stand out as two of the most iconic moments in franchise history. He played a very important role in setting up Pete Alonso’s famous home run in Milwaukee, working a walk to lead off an inning that began with the Mets with two runs down and only three outs to play for.

Furthermore, Lindor continued to play great defense at shortstop. Several times in these playoffs, he made plays to score one or two plays, making them look much easier than they actually were along the way.

The Mets will need contributions from players up and down the lineup to progress as well, but Lindor is undoubtedly the team’s best player. He is hunkered down and has his eyes on the World Series prize. There aren’t many players you’d rather play for your team in the Championship Series than him.

Six starting pitchers

The Mets won’t use all six of the pitchers they have on their roster as starters, but they certainly will use all six in parts of these games, especially if the series lasts a little longer.

Sean Mania, Jose Quintana and Luis Severino serve as the traditional starters. Kodai Senga will likely go longer than he did in his NLDS Game 1 start against the Phillies, and David Peterson or Tylor Megill should be paired with him to fill the gap between the team’s relief arms.

The Mets aren’t the first team to use starters in non-traditional roles, but it’s relatively rare to see a team carry this many starters — and feel good about how they can all be used.

Increased stability of bulls

If the first two switches are very likely to occur here, well, this one might be a little more than a roll of the dice. Exhausted largely during the final days of the regular season and into the Wild Card round, the Mets have been less reliable lately than they were in the second half of the regular season.

With three days off between the NLDS and NLCS, you’ll hope to see a return to form for the best high-leverage relievers. Edwin Diaz, Jose Boto and Phil Maton are all likely to be better than they have looked so far in these qualifiers.

Ryne Stanek and Reed Garrett have been legitimately good in the postseason so far. The Mets don’t necessarily need all five of these arms to be outstanding at the same time, but if they can get into a rhythm where they trust more than one or two of them in the big spot, it shores up some of the innings that felt the shakiest of the two outings. The first two of these qualifiers.

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