LOS ANGELES — After nearly completing five innings in Game 2, Sean Manaea couldn't find the strike zone and left with two walks and a grounder. Afterwards, he admitted that he hit a “wall.”
That wall might as well have been concrete on Sunday.
The Mets' best pitcher in recent months had little left after a season that ended with 36 total starts and 200 innings pitched, both career highs.
Manaea was bruised by the workload and was crushed by the Dodgers in the NLCS and season-ending game at Dodger Stadium, losing 10-5.
Starting on July 30, when Manaea removed his arm slot, through September 21, the left-handed pitcher continued to pitch at least 6/3 innings in 10 of 11 games. He has emerged as not just an ace, but a mainstay that the Mets rely on.
Under the stress of a workload he had never experienced before, Manaea recorded just six outs and was running dry.
The Mets, desperate for pitching, needed length, but they were unable to do so, and Manaea allowed five runs on five hits and two walks over the second inning.
The 32-year-old, who is set to decline his player option and become a free agent, said afterwards with tears in his eyes that he was open to returning.
“I really can’t control it right now,” Manaea said. “But I loved my time here, I love New York, I love the organization, I love all the people here, and I would love to come back.”
In what may have been his last start with the Mets, he had trouble early on, facing seven Dodgers batters on a 34-pitch first that seemed to spell doom.
Tommy Edman's two-run double made him the top scorer, but the endless at-bats, including an eight-pitch walk to Quique Hernandez, all but ruined the hopes of the Mets and Manaea.
After a long, albeit scoreless, second inning, Manaea faced three batters in the third, but did not retire any of them.
Edman hit a two-run homer to put the Mets in trouble, and a walk to Max Muncy prompted a pitching change.
After Phil Mayton allowed a two-run home run to Will Smith, Manaea could get an extra point.
If this was the end of Manaea's Mets career, his last dud won't be remembered.
Manaea, who became a free agent after a tough season with the Giants last year, has developed into one of the Mets' best arms, earning him a spot in the rotation with a dominant run in the second half.
“No one thought we would get to this point,” Manaea said. “We gave it our all, we did what we had to do, and we just fell a little short. The Dodgers just had our number.”
He had a bad postseason history, but he redeemed it by pitching well against the Brewers. He had a not-so-great history in the playoffs with the Phillies and put it to rest by dominating the Phillies. He underperformed against the Dodgers, but got off to an effective start in Game 2 to make up for it.
However, Manaea had nothing to give after giving everything to the club.
