It wasn’t that long ago that Mets fans were calling for manager Carlos Mendoza to bench young backstop Francisco Alvarez.
To be fair, Alvarez was in a massive slump this postseason, and especially in the NLCS against the Dodgers. After Game 3, Alvarez was 1-for-10 with one walk and three strikeouts. And it wasn’t just what his box score was, the catcher looked lost at the plate. Game 3 was the perfect example of that when Alvarez struck out three times, all looking.
When Mendoza was asked about potentially starting Luis Torrens for a pivotal Game 4, the first-year Mets skipper immediately said Alvarez was playing.
That confidence has seemingly paid off. After Alvarez picked up a hit and reached base twice in Game 4, the 22-year-old had his best postseason performance on Friday. Alvarez went 3-for-4 and helped the Mets stave off elimination in Game 5.
“The biggest thing [I told him] is to try and keep it simple,” Mendoza explained after the win. “Not to swing too hard, be short to the ball and be on time. Basically, relax. I know when you’re struggling you have a lot of people in your ear.
“He’s a really good player. I’ve been saying it and he’s showing it right now. He’s a big part of this team.”
Alvarez echoed the adjustments he needed to make to SNY’s Steve Gelbs on the field after Game 5 but pointed to how Mendoza and teammate Starling Marte — who the young backstop said took him to the side after Game 3 — were happy with his progress.
“They are very happy because I’m doing good and Marte is like ‘keep going’ and Mendy told me after the game ‘let’s keep going’ in the next one,” Alvarez said.
Alvarez doubled in his first at-bat, but his two-out RBI single off a slider down in the zone during the Mets’ five-run third inning was huge to keep the line moving.
Marte was asked after the game what the biggest difference he’s seen out of Alvarez in the last two games and the veteran outfielder was reflective about his place in baseball and on the Mets.
“The biggest difference has been his confidence,” Marte said. “He’s the type of player that you can say something to and he’ll put it into practice. That’s a good thing to take away from when you’re having these conversations with young players. They listen to you and that they try to get it right. It may not be the first or second day but they tend to pick it up. It brings a joy to us veterans to be able to have conversations with these young guys because you know that they are listening and want to be good to help the team.”
In his first 10 postseason games, Alvarez had five hits. Over the last two, he’s accumulated four and it’s the perfect time for the Mets who now head to Los Angeles for Game 6, in hopes to force a winner-take-all Game 7 in the NLCS.
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