Mets Not in Dodgers Class as LA Dominates Game 3 of NLCS

 The New York Mets are really up against the proverbial wall now. Yes, Game 3 was only one of potentially seven games in the 2024 NLCS, but the LA Dodgers came to Citi Field and made a huge statement that the National League, and likely this series is there's for the taking.

When Kike Hernandez crushed a Reed Garrett pitch, and deposited it over left-center field wall to give the Dodgers a 4-0 lead, you knew Game 3 was all but over.

Shohei Ohtani and Max Muncy then put the series itself in question when they launched pitches to the moon. Ohtani's homer skied the top of the right field foul pole, and Muncy's homer landed in the second row of the upper deck. Just like that the scoreboard read Dodgers 8 - Mets 0.

Mets owner Steve Cohen once said when he purchased the team that he wants the Mets to one day emulate the Dodgers and their current run of success. It's clear that the Amazin's have a long way to go to catch them. 

For the second time in this series, LA blanked the Mets, who outside of home runs by Francisco Lindor and Mark Vientos, have done very little with the bats.

The Mets had only four hits on Wednesday, and left eight men on base. In the three games the Mets are 4-for-19 with runners in scoring position, and have stranded 23 men on base.

Shohei Ohtani homers. Getty Images. 

Pete Alonso is 1-for-11; Brandon Nimmo is 1-for-10, and Francisco Alvarez is 1-for-9 in this series. That's a lot of missing offense from key contributors.

Worse off is the pitching. The Mets walked seven batters on Wednesday. Four of those walks were issued by starter Luis Severino who only lasted 4.2 innings. Tylor Megill got lit up, allowing the two late inning bombs and walking three.

The Mets will start Jose Quintana, who has been both good and bad at times this year. He's has been great lately in the postseason, and the Mets need him to continue that tonight. But one thing is clear the Dodgers have all the momentum pointing in their direction.

There is a reason why the Dodgers won 98 games this year, and were pound for pound the most consistent team in baseball all year. If the Mets aren't careful, LA could be celebrating their fourth trip to the World Series in the last eight seasons on the grounds of Citi Field come Friday.

The goal for the Mets right now is survival, and to prevent an LA celebration at Citi Field. Win a game, and force this series back to LA.  

Judge Awakens as Yanks Bomb Guardians in Game 2

 The New York Yankees are closing in on their first World Series appearance in 15 years. And they can thank slugger Aaron Judge, who has finally shaken off the cobwebs of his October swoon, crushing a two-run homer in the Yankees 6-3 win over the Cleveland Guardians at Yankee Stadium.

Through two games of this American League Championship Series, it has been a total mismatch. While the Yankees haven't been clicking on all cylinders, they are doing just enough to beat a Cleveland team that can't get out of its own way.

Aaron Judge watches it go. Getty Images. 

No better example than in the bottom of the first inning of Game 2 when Cleveland's Bryan Rocchio dropped a pop up by Judge, allowing Gleyber Torres to score the games first run.

 Finally in the bottom of the seventh inning, Judge ripped the proverbial roof of the 'House that Jeter Built' when he crushed a two-run bomb to Monument Park in dead center to make it 6-2.

On the hill, Gerrit Cole did just enough to help win the game for the Yanks. As has been the case for much of the season for Cole since coming off the I.L., he struggled with control, but was still effective enough. He held the Guardians to a pair of runs on six hits, while walking four and striking out four. He lasted only 4.1 innings.

The Yankees bullpen on the other hand, continues to be very effective. Clay Holmes got the victory as he continues to succeed in his new role. Tim Hill and Tommy Kahnle were excellent in the seventh and eighth innings, and Luke Weaver, despite giving up a run, closed the door on Cleveland. 

NEXT: 

The Bombers hit the road for Cleveland with Game 3 set for Thursday night. Clarke Schmidt is expected to get the ball for the Yankees, against Matthew Boyd. First pitch is at 5:08.

Jets acquire Davante Adams After Monday Night Disaster

 The New York Jets landed star wide receiver Davante Adams in a blockbuster trade with the Las Vegas Raiders in the early morning hours, Tuesday, less than 12 hours following a disheartening 23-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football.

The move reunites Adams with his favorite quarterback, Aaron Rodgers.

Aaron Rodgers vs. Bills. Getty Images. 

The pending Adams-Rodgers reunion has been the worst kept secret in the NFL for some time. The Jets tried to make a move for Adams last season, but the Raiders balked on a trade. The talks between the two fledging franchises heated up again this summer, and started boiling as the trade deadline neared.

According to reports, the Jets surrendered a third round pick, which could become a second rounder. Meanwhile Gang Green will assume all of Adams contract, which is no bargain. Adams is due $11 million the rest of this season, and over $36 million in each of the next two seasons. 

One would think that a reworking of the contract, or some form of out in the contract has to be included. There is no way the Jets, and whomever the GM is in 2025 whether it's Joe Douglas or someone else, will want that on the cap. 

Talent wise, yes, Adams adds something to the Jets. Even at age 32, he is still considered one of the best wide receivers in the game. And he enjoyed his best seasons with Rodgers when the two were in Green Bay. 

Meanwhile, the trade could spell the end of receiver Mike Williams, who was once again on the wrong end of a late game pass by quarterback Aaron Rodgers. In his post game news conference, Rodgers threw Williams under the bus when he explained that the receiver ran the wrong route. 

Rodgers was picked off on the final play when Williams tried to come back to the ball and slipped. It marked the second straight game where Rodgers targeted Williams only to have the pass picked off.

Haason Reddick

The Haason Reddick situation took another strange twist on Tuesday, when Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported that the Jets had granted Reddick and his new representation the ability to seek a trade. 

Reddick was dropped by CAA, his previous agency because of the ongoing holdout. Reddick in turn linked up with Drew Rosenhaus in recent days. Rosenhaus' camp initially put word out that Reddick was looking forward to staying a Jet for "years to come." 

We shall see where this goes. Reddick is the only holdout remaining and we are a third of the way through the season. He's been a holdout since last April. 

Soto & Stanton Power Yankees Past Listless Guardians

 The New York Yankees continue their domination of teams from the American League Central this postseason. The latest victim: The Cleveland Guardians. 

As Derek Jeter admitted during the MLB on FOX pregame show on Sunday, the Yanks have the easiest route to the World Series they have seen in the two-plus decades of playoff excellence since the late 90s.

 The Yankees dominated the Guardians 5-2 on Monday with Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton both going yard on balls that were no doubters when they left the bat. 

Juan Soto - Getty Images. 

With Aaron Judge still struggling this postseason, batting only .133 in five games, the Yanks needed someone to step up, and they have gotten just that from their other two sluggers in Soto who is batting .353 this postseason, and Stanton, who is sizzling at .368. 

It really has been a two-man show for the Bombers at this point. And so far it's working. 

It also helps that the Yankees are finally getting the most out of their starting pitchers, and at the right time too. 

After getting roughed up by the Kansas City Royals in Game 2 of the Division Series, Carlos Rodon was masterful in Game One of the ALCS. He struck out nine batters and held the Guardians to one run on three hits. The bullpen was again solid, as Luke Weaver tossed his sixth shutout inning this postseason to earn his fourth save of the playoffs. 

At 1-0, all feels good for the Yankees. They have their ace, Gerrit Cole on the hill for Game 2. If the Yankees take care of business on Tuesday, this series could be over very quickly. 

Vientos Powers Mets Past Dodgers to Even Up NLCS

 The New York Mets evened up the National League Championship Series with a resounding 7-3 victory on Monday afternoon, as Mark Vientos proved to be the star of the show thanks to his grand slam home run.

Vientos launched the homer in the second inning as the Mets jumped out to an early 6-0 lead, one night after getting plastered by the Dodgers in Game 1.

The 24-year old infielder has been terrific in the postseason, batting .378 with three homers and 11 RBI. More importantly Vientos has been clutch in big spots.

Mark Vientos - Getty Images. 

Meanwhile, the Mets didn't make things easy on themselves the rest of the night. After a strong start, Sean Manaea left in the sixth inning as the Dodgers rallied to plate a pair of runs to cut the Met lead in half at 6-3.

Still give the Mets bullpen a ton of credit. Phil Maton, Ryan Staneck and Edwin Diaz all worked out of trouble on Monday. Diaz bailed out Staneck in the eighth when he got Kike Hernandez to fly out to right with a pair of runners aboard.

Then in the ninth inning, after surrendering a lead-off walk to Shoehi Ohtani, Diaz struck out the next three batters to face him, including Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman to end it.

The NLCS shifts back to New York for three games beginning on Wednesday night in Game 3. The Mets will likely start Luis Severino in the contest against LA's Walker Buehler. First pitch Wednesday is at 8:08 p.m.

Mets & Senga Fall Flat in NLCS Opener, Blanked 9-0

 DODGERS 9 - METS 0 (LA Leads Series 1-0) 

The New York Mets didn't get off the mat Sunday night in Los Angeles, falling behind early as Kodi Senga imploded, and the offense was held in check in a disappointing 9-0 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers out at Dodgers Stadium in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series. 

The Mets and manager Carlos Mendoza rolled the dice on starting Senga for the second time this postseason, and only the second time since coming off the I.L. where he spent the entire second half of the year recovering from a hamstring tear. The decision to pitch him proved fatal in Game 1. 

Senga didn't have it. 

Getty Images.

After getting fellow countryman, Shohei Ohtani to ground out for the first out, Senga lost control of the strike zone. He walked the next three batters to face him, and got lucky as Will Smith's fly ball to center wasn't deep enough for Mookie Betts to score on a sac fly. 

Still the Dodgers made Senga pay moments later when veteran Max Muncy lined a two-run single to right-center, scoring Betts and Freddie Freeman to give the Dodgers an early 2-0 lead. 

They would never look back. 

When Senga was finally removed in the bottom of the second inning, he left charged with three runs and four walks in an inning and a third. The gamble didn't pay off the way it did in Game of the NLDS against Philadelphia. 

After Reed Garret worked his way through trouble over the next inning and a third, David Peterson got lit up in the fourth inning, as the Dodgers broke the game wide open in a three-run rally to make it 6-0. 

The game at this point was virtually over. 

The Mets' bats were silent all night, as Dodgers righty Jake Flaherty was brilliant. He held the Mets to just two hits over seven innings of shutout baseball. In fact he carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning. He was that on-point for the Dodgers, that it became evident that it wouldn't have mattered who started on the hill for the Mets, they couldn't touch Flaherty. 

The Mets face a must-win Game 2 on Monday afternoon. Sean Manaea who many fans wanted to see start Game 1, will get the ball for the Amazin's. The Dodgers are likely going with a bullpen game themselves. 

If the Mets can get Game 2 and leave LA at 1-1, Mets fans will feel a lot better about their chances to comeback in this series. 

NOTE: While losing Game 1 is never fatal, it certainly helps to win it. More times than not the winner of Game 1 of a playoff series sees their chances of winning a series only increase. However when the Mets are involved in an NLCS, that's a different proposition. Of their previous eight appearances in the League Championship Series, the winner of Game 1 has only won half of those series. So, I guess that means there's always a chance.