Struggling young Met breaks slump in crucial spot by finally keeping it ‘simple’

NEW YORK — Citi Field has been re-invigorated.

As they trailed 3-1 in the NLCS to the Dodgers Friday night, Mets fans held a newfound energy — one that Francisco Alvarez helped feed.

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The young Mets catcher broke out of an abysmal postseason slump to go 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored in the 12-6 win over Los Angeles in Game 5. Alvarez has now reached base in five of his last six at bats, and he's had four hits in the last two games.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said earlier this week that Alvarez was having trouble making good swing decisions at the plate because he was late on the fastball, something that he appears to have corrected over his last several at-bats.

"I was ready for a fastball," Alvarez said after the game. "I reacted early which is what I've been working on, being shorter to the ball so that react to the fastball quicker and it doesn't beat you. I'm seeing the ball better and feel better at the plate as a result of that.

Two days ago, fans were calling for Alvarez to be benched. It wasn't a crazy request — after Game 3, his slash line for the postseason was .143/.167/.143 with 13 strikeouts. But in Friday's must-win game, he proved himself worthy of a spot in this playoffs lineup.

"I think the biggest thing was trying to keep it simple," Mendoza said. "Not trying to swing too hard, and just be short to the ball, be on time, basically just relax. When you're struggling, there's a lot of people in your ears, 'You need to do this, you need to do that.' Especially at this time of year, the simpler the better. And that's what he did."

Alvarez breaking his slump added much-needed juice to an offense that has been stagnant overall in the last two games. In Games 3 and 4, the Mets stranded 33 runners on base and were 4-for-27 with runners in scoring position. In Game 5, they did not strike out once.

Mendoza defended his decision to stick with Alvarez in the lineup this week, saying, "He'll come through for us." It took until the 12th game of the playoffs for that to happen, but it was the most important one yet (as each successive game keeps becoming).

The Mets live to see another day and will head back to Los Angeles for Game 6 in another must-win situation with Sean Manaea on the mound for New York on Sunday.