New York Mets Magical Season Comes to an End in NLCS Game 6 Loss
The clock has officially struck midnight on what has been a magical season for the New York Mets.
The Mets fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers by a score of 10-5 in Game 6 of the NLCS on Sunday, which ultimately eliminated them from the postseason.
Left-handed ace Sean Manaea, who hit a wall in his Game 2 start, was only able to record six outs and was charged with five runs. The Mets' bullpen gave up five more, while the offense wasn't able to muster up enough to overcome the deficit.
All year the Mets showed resilience; overcoming a 22-33 start to finish 67-40 and clinch the third and final NL Wild Card spot. They proceeded to knock off the Milwaukee Brewers in the Wild Card round with a crazy ninth inning comeback via Pete Alonso's go-ahead three-run home run before bouncing the No. 2 seed NL East rival Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS in four games.
From Jose Iglesias and "OMG" to Grimace to Max Weiner to Seymour Weiner to Hailey Welch, the Mets had a lot of fun in 2024 in what was a special journey.
But in the NLCS, the Mets met their toughest matchup yet in the 98-win Dodgers, who were relentless on offense. The Mets' pitching staff is a big reason they got so far, but in the end the group looked gassed, which was evident in this series.
The Dodgers outscored the Mets 46-26 in the NLCS. New York was 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left 13 men on base in their Game 6 defeat.
However, the future appears to be bright in Queens behind billionaire owner Steve Cohen, president of baseball operations David Stearns and rookie manager Carlos Mendoza. The Mets weren't expected to make the playoffs, let alone go this far, and in the first year of Stearns and Mendoza at the helm were two wins away from playing in the World Series.
The Mets have some tough decisions to make in the offseason regarding whether they're going to retain Pete Alonso, Jesse Winker, Sean Manaea and Luis Severino. But they have a significant amount of money coming off the books and are destined to be big spenders again after a one year hiatus.
The ending was disappointing for Mets fans, but there's no denying that the team defied all odds and shattered expectations in what was quite the successful season.