After blowout NLCS loss, Mets committed to lineup ‘that got us to this point’

NEW YORK — The Mets have been shut out for the second time in three games. But manager Carlos Mendoza isn't ready to make any drastic changes to the lineup — at least, not yet.

The Dodgers plan on starting Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 4 of the NL Championship Series on Thursday. Unlike most right-handers, however, Yamamoto's splits are reversed, enticing the Mets to continue rolling out a right-handed heavy lineup.

"He's been a lot better against lefties. I would anticipate our righties to be in the lineup tomorrow," Mendoza said after the Mets' 9-0 loss in Game 3 . "The guys that are in there got us to this point. And I'm pretty confident they'll come through."

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In 189 plate appearances, right-handers batted .263 with a .744 OPS and 23 extra-base hits in the regular season. Left-handers batted .193 with a .526 OPS and just seven extra-base hits in 10 fewer plate appearances.

But the lineup the Mets plan on rolling out tomorrow hasn't done much to strike fear in Dodgers pitching. They've created plenty of traffic, but have not been able to get a big hit in two of three NLCS games.

Including Game 2, when the Mets won 7-3, New York has stranded 23 runners while going 4-for-19 (.210 batting average) with runners in scoring position. Meanwhile, the Dodgers have stranded more runners (27) but are 10-for-33 (.303 batting average) with runners in scoring position.

"When we have people on base, we gotta execute, that's what it comes down to," Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor said. "They executed their pitches when we had people on base and we didn't execute, I didn't execute. ... We gotta execute when we have people in scoring position. That's part of the game.

No hitter looks more lost at the plate than catcher Francisco Alvarez , who was 0 for 3 with three strikeouts (all looking) on Wednesday. This extended his postseason-long slump in which he has five hits in 35 at-bats (.143) with 13 strikeouts — his slugging percentage (.143) matches his batting average.

This should inspire Mendoza to call for a change, at least for one game, right?

"Alvy's playing tomorrow," Mendoza promptly dismissed the possibility.

But this is what the Mets have done all season. They find ways to come through when you least expect.

"This team is defined by their ability to take hits and finding ways to come back from it," Mendoza said. "Tomorrow, we'll have another opportunity. We're playing a good team and a great arm, but the guys always find a way to get a win."