Sean Manaea has been the Mets’ ace in the second half of the season and this postseason. He proved that in Game 2 of the NLCS when he helped deliver a critical road win in Los Angeles.
Now, the Mets are asking Manaea to do the same again and save their season in Game 6 on Sunday. But eyes will be on the mound to see how effective the southpaw is after he admitted to feeling like he’s “hitting a wall” after his last start.
“He’ll be ready to go,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said of Manaea. “Everybody around this time of the year feels like they’re hitting a wall. It’s not just Sean. We’ll watch him closely and adjust if we need to. Pretty comfortable giving him the ball tomorrow. We’ll go from there.”
In Game 2, Manaea allowed three runs (two earned) over five-plus innings while striking out seven batters. However, the left-hander said when he pitched into the sixth inning is when that “hitting a wall” feeling came up.
He walked Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernandez — accounting for two of his four walks — before Freddie Freeman reached on an error by Jose Iglesias. That spelled the end of Manaea’s night.
“A lot of innings so far, a lot of pitches. Really, just the body is a little tired,” Manaea explained. “That last inning in the sixth I threw a lot of balls arm side, which hasn’t been typical for me. I couldn’t really get that mind-body connection to make the adjustment. That’s what the wall meant. [I’m] trying to push through that.”
Manaea says he’s been doing a lot of recovery since that start and feels he’s done a really good job of it. The 32-year-old needs it after the work he’s put in this season. He accumulated 181.2 innings in the regular season, the most he’s thrown since 2021.
Tack on 17.0 innings this postseason and it’s understandable where fatigue would set in. But despite any lingering tiredness, Manaea is ready to take the mound on Sunday and give the Mets his best.
“Going into tomorrow, giving everything I got. Feeling good with that,” he said. “Really excited for it. Feel like I’m ready to go and give it all I got.”
The Mets look to stave off elimination again on Sunday when they take on the Dodgers in Los Angeles for Game 6. A win Sunday means a winner-takes-all Game 7 on Monday.
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