Two high-wire acts by Mets arms in 1st, 4th frames flip momentum in Game 5

NEW YORK -- Less than 24 hours earlier, the final question posed to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts centered around his club’s intention to close out the National League Championship Series against the Mets in Queens.

At the time, Roberts acknowledged one play could turn a series. In this case, only time will tell if two thwarted rallies in the Mets’ 12-6 victory over the Dodgers at Citi Field in Game 5 turn out to be momentum shifters in the NLCS.

The Dodgers weren’t able to capitalize on opportunities, as the Mets wiggled out of two big jams to send the NLCS back to Dodger Stadium for Sunday’s Game 6.

First inning
The Dodgers had been able to keep the boisterous Citi Field crowd relatively quiet through the first two games in Queens by scoring early and often.

Los Angeles looked poised to do the same on Friday, when Shohei Ohtani led off with a single and right fielder Starling Marte couldn't hold onto Mookie Betts’ sinking liner for a sliding catch. But with two runners in scoring position, Teoscar Hernández grounded left-hander David Peterson’s sinker to short, holding both runners.

“Infield back, corners in, that's the situation that Shohei's got to go on the ball in the middle of the infield,” Roberts said. “I think he just locked up there. It's no excuse.”

Freddie Freeman, who didn't start Game 4 due to his badly sprained right ankle, softly lined out to first baseman Pete Alonso. Tommy Edman, who entered as a candidate for NLCS MVP with a .412 average and seven RBIs, struck out swinging at an eye-level four-seamer.

New York carried that momentum into the bottom half of the frame, as Alonso belted a three-run homer to give the Mets their first lead since their NLCS Game 2 victory. The first club to score in each game has gone on to win.

“I think you learn from those experiences,” said Peterson, who made his first start this postseason. “I have total confidence in my stuff, and so it wasn't like there was any lack of confidence, but it definitely gets you going on the right foot to put a zero up there and let those guys go and hit and do what they did.”

Fourth inning
Holding what appeared to be a comfortable seven-run lead, Peterson retired the first two batters of the frame before rookie Andy Pages blasted the first of his two homers on the night. Ohtani, Betts and Hernández kept the two-out rally going to load the bases.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza then turned to righty Reed Garrett to put out the fire and face the left-handed-hitting Freeman.

Garrett and Freeman had matched up just once before: Freeman singled on a line drive to right-center in NLCS Game 1. Garrett won Friday’s seven-pitch battle by freezing Freeman on a backdoor sweeper that clipped the outer edge of the zone on a full count. Garrett had set up Freeman with a splitter in the dirt.

“I thought I could maybe get him to chase there, and then I thought, ‘If I throw the sweeper, then maybe it starts off the plate and he sees it as ball out of hand,’ and I executed it,” Garrett said. “It was a good pitch.”

There is a possibility Freeman doesn’t start Game 6 due to the injury. He admitted that the sprained ankle -- the same one he has been dealing with since September -- is affecting his swing mechanics, forcing him to do a cut swing.

“I had a lot of opportunities, I just didn’t get the hit today,” said Freeman, who has stranded 11 baserunners in the NLCS. “We’re still scoring runs. Mookie Betts is Mookie Betts, Shohei is Shohei, Max [Muncy] is still looking great out there. If we get a couple other guys like me and Teo going here, we have a really good chance.”

The Mets answered with two insurance runs in the bottom of the frame, which proved to be important because the Dodgers responded with four consecutive runs in the fifth and sixth. No lead is safe against superstar-laden Los Angeles, which featured the Majors' second-highest-scoring lineup during the regular season.

“We need [to] continue to add on, because we saw it,” Mendoza said. “They're not going to -- they're not going to shut down. They're going to continue to put pressure on you. That's a really good offense there.”