NLCS Game 6 storylines: Dodgers on cusp, Mets trying to keep magic alive

The Mets surprised a lot of people by sending the NLCS back to Los Angeles for Game 6, but that’s what they’ve been doing all year. Why should now be any different?

The Dodgers are one win away from the World Series … but they’re also one loss away from a win-or-go-home Game 7. Plus, one team seems to have a clear pitching advantage here, and it’s not the Dodgers. So this thing is far from over.

Here are the five biggest storylines heading into Sunday’s game at Dodger Stadium.

NLCS Game 6: Mets at Dodgers (LAD up 3-2)
8:08 p.m. ET, FS1
SP: Sean Manaea (NYM) vs. Michael Kopech (LAD)

1. Can Manaea save a tired bullpen?
Both teams had a day off so they could, you know, fly across the country, and when it comes to the bullpens, the Mets needed the rest a lot more. Ryne Stanek had to get seven outs in Game 5, and Edwin Díaz had to get six; it’s fair to wonder if either of them will be at full capacity if needed in an elimination game. They may be pressed into duty anyway, which is why it’s particularly important that Manaea give them the best start possible.

He’s the guy they want on the mound most. He got them wins in both the NLDS against the Phillies and then in NLCS Game 2 against the Dodgers. He’s pitching on full rest. The Mets would love the seven innings he gave them in the NLDS, but at the very least, you’d like him to hand a lead over to the bullpen as deep into the game as possible.

2. How will the Dodgers piece together their own bullpen?
The Dodgers, with a shaky rotation and a stacked group of relievers, are about to try their third bullpen game of this postseason, out of 11 total games. The first one saved them from elimination against the Padres in Game 4 of the NLDS; the second one, in Game 2 of the NLCS, was a total disaster, with the Mets scoring six runs in the first two innings.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the strategy in Game 6 will be “similar to what we did in Game 2 with the expectation of better execution.” He also said he’ll be a “little bit more aggressive” getting to the team’s top relievers early, which is reflected in the choice to start the hard-throwing Kopech. In Game 2, Roberts went to Landon Knack in the second inning, and the rookie gave up five runs. In Game 6, though, Roberts can lean more heavily on high-leverage options like Evan Phillips and Blake Treinen, who have combined for just 3 2/3 innings -- with no runs allowed -- in this series.

3. Can anyone stop Betts (or Ohtani) right now?
How do you make Shohei Ohtani look like the other MVP in a series in which he has a 1.205 OPS? Get on a heater like Mookie Betts is on right now. Betts has been even better, with a 1.234 OPS, but he’s been particularly unstoppable of late, going 6-for-10 with two homers and five RBIs in his last two games. With the top two spots in the order hitting like that right now, the fact that Freddie Freeman is hobbled and out of the Game 6 lineup doesn’t hurt as much as it otherwise would. It’s not like you can walk them both every time through.

We can talk all we want about bullpens and momentum and vibes, but when two of some of the greatest players in baseball right now are performing at the absolute peak of their capabilities, it is extremely difficult to beat the team they are playing for.

4. Can Lindor quiet the crowd again?
One of the biggest moments of this series for the Mets, and the reason they’re still here at all, may well have been in Game 2. After getting crushed in Game 1 and having Dodgers fans thinking they were going to run away with this thing, Francisco Lindor launched a homer in the top of the first inning to set the tone for a 7-3 win.

Lindor has been the emotional leader of this team all year, as well as its best player, and while he’s not likely to overtake Ohtani for NL MVP honors, that there was even a discussion about it speaks to just how much he means to this club and everything the Mets have accomplished to get here. The Mets’ backs are still against the wall; they’re facing elimination, after all. But if anyone’s going to find a way to keep them alive, it’ll be Lindor.

5. Can the Dodgers avoid a terrifying Game 7?
Everything in this series still points to the Dodgers winning it. They have home-field advantage. They’re up 3-2. They’ve got a rested bullpen. They have Ohtani and Betts! But you may remember a previous NLCS in which the heavily favored team came home with a 3-2 lead thinking they were all set up for the World Series. That was last year, and it turned out the Phillies did not end up making the World Series.

The Dodgers seem to have everything going for them right now, but baseball has a way of messing up what you think is going to happen -- and your best laid plans. The Dodgers have one game to play with at this moment. But lose Game 6 and they’ll be staring at elimination, just like the Mets.