Can Mets' Ace Reverse Brutal Postseason Struggles?

New York Mets pitcher Sean Manaea has struggled mightily in his MLB postseason career.

Sep 27, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; New York Mets pitcher Sean Manaea (59) reacts during a pitching change in the fourth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images / Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

The New York Mets are slated to face the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 1 of the MLB Playoffs' NL Wild Card round on Tuesday.

This comes just one day after the Mets thrillingly secured their postseason position after an 8-7 rollercoaster win against the Atlanta Braves on Monday.

While Luis Severino will take the mound for New York on Tuesday, it's likely that Sean Manaea will be the Mets' starter for either Game 2 or 3, which are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

Despite Manaea struggling in his start against the Brewers on September 27, there's no question he has been New York's best pitcher this season, especially since the All-Star Break.

Since the 2024 MLB All-Star Game, Manaea has produced a 6-3 record with an ERA of 3.48 and 88 strikeouts in 85.1 innings pitched. This includes a stretch of 11 starts where he went 6-1 with a 2.63 ERA and 82 strikeouts in 72.0 innings.

This success aside, performing in the regular season compared to the playoffs are vastly different asks. And Manaea's postseason statistics are not ideal.

An October 1 article from Bleacher Report's Joel Rueter highlighted Manaea's 15.26 career playoff ERA.

"That eye sore of a postseason ERA includes a pair of starts with the Oakland Athletics in 2019 and 2020, as well as a relief appearance with the San Diego Padres in 2022, but he is pitching at a different level right now," Rueter wrote.

Manaea's best postseason outing came with the A's in 2020, where he conceded 4 earned runs in 4,1 innings pitched. His worst outing was the aforementioned relief appearance for San Diego in 2022, where he gave up 5 earned runs in 1.1 innings thrown.

But, as Rueter said, Manaea is a completely different pitcher now. All it will take is one good outing for the Mets this postseason to erase any questions about whether he can perform when the lights are brightest.

And the Mets will need him to if they're to make a deep postseason push.