Mets' Game 3 Starter: Why This Start vs. Phillies is Different

New York Mets hurler Sean Manaea will look to exorcise some Philadelphia phantoms on Tuesday late afternoon.

Oct 22, 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Sean Manaea (55) pitches in the fourth inning during game four of the NLCS against the Philadelphia Phillies for the 2022 MLB Playoffs at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images / Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

Sean Manaea's name may appear in the San Diego Padres' box score for Game 4 of the 2022 National League Championship Series, but the current New York Mets hurler insists that wasn't him.

Manaea has been granted the start for a crucial postseason match for the Mets, who welcome in the Philadelphia Phillies for Game 3 of the NL Division Series at Citi Field on Tuesday (5 p.m. ET, FS1). The showdown is set to break a 1-1 tie in the best-of-five set after a pair of thrillers in Philadelphia.

The left-hander has postseason experience against the Phillies but he likely won't harken back to it; Manaea, then with the Padres, was called upon from the bullpen to stem the tide in a potential momentum-shifting game.

Instead, he was roughed up for five earned runs in 1.1 innings and was burdened with the loss in an eventual 10-6 decision.

Asked about that previous performance this week, Manaea insisted that it's left behind him.

"It’s a thing of the past," Manaea said as the Mets prepped for Game 3, per Mark W. Sanchez of the New York Post. "It obviously wasn’t a very good outing for myself. (But) the thing about it (is that) I’m not the same pitcher I was then. They’re not the same they were then as well."

Manaea had entered the game in the fourth with a 4-3 lead before surrendering an equalizing double from Bryson Stott. Juan Soto got him the lead back with a two-run blast in the top of the fifth, but Manaea let up a two-run shot of his own to Rhys Hoskins before Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos drove in a pair of runs to put the Phillies up for good (Castellanos' run-scoring hit was off Luis García, with the run charged to Manaea). The win gave Philadelphia a 3-1 series lead in the best-of-seven and they would punch their ticket to the World Series with a 4-3 win at home the next day.

In fairness, there are plenty of active leftovers from Philadelphia's pennant-winning squad from 2022, including the haunting trio of Stott, Harper, and Castellanos. But Manaea cleaned up his game fairly well against the Phillies this year; of note, he threw seven innings of three-hit ball in Queens on September 21 en route to a 6-3 victory, putting the Mets back on track after letting Philadelphia cross the plate a dozen times the day before.

Manaea was 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA against the Phillies this year, with most of the damage done when he lasted less than four frames in the London Series back on June 8. Less than a month prior, he allowed one run and four hits in a six-inning no-decision.

Manaea expects to be at the top of his game now that the Mets are finally home, and he's hoping the 40,000-plus that cross through Citi Field's turnstiles will be equally prepared. He's well-versed in Queens' potential for postseason volume; though he didn't take the mound, the Padres eventually earned the right to face the Phillies thanks to a three-game Wild Card series victory over the Mets.

"I expect it to be crazy," Manaea said, per The Post's Mike Puma. "I was here in ’22 and it was wild for sure. This place can definitely be rocking. The last couple of games we had here were pretty amazing."