NEW YORK -- Shortly after Game 4 of the National League Championship Series on Thursday, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza approached reliever Danny Young to thank him. Knowing his manager would not want to use any high-leverage options in a blowout loss, Young had extended himself well beyond the norm to record the final seven outs. It was a small victory within a larger defeat.

One day later, Young’s contribution meant everything as the Mets took a substantial early lead in Game 5 only to watch it wither in the middle innings. With close to a full complement of rested relievers -- minus Young, of course -- at his disposal, Mendoza managed to coax 27 outs from his pitching staff in a 12-6 win over the Dodgers. The victory sent the Mets back to Los Angeles, trailing this best-of-seven series, 3-2.

It was a win the Mets had to have at any cost -- and that wound up costing them quite a bit. To stave off the Dodgers, Mendoza relied on setup man Ryne Stanek for a career-high seven outs and closer Edwin Díaz for six. How those workloads affect them later in the NLCS remains to be seen; Stanek and Díaz will certainly be available for a potential Game 7, if not Game 6 on Sunday, but will they be as effective? Will they be able to give the Mets as much?

"We come always with the same mentality," Díaz said. "Our goal was to win this game and go back to L.A. We did it. We played really good baseball against a really good team. But at the end of the day, the guys did their job. The bullpen did a really good job and we got the 'W.'"

For Mendoza, those are worries for another day. Game 5 was about surviving, which the Mets did behind a Pete Alonso three-run homer in the first inning and a five-run rally against Jack Flaherty -- the same Jack Flaherty that had blanked them over seven innings in Game 1 -- in the third. At one point, the Mets held an eight-run cushion, which seemed like plenty. In postseason history, teams that had built a lead that large were 162-1.

"Every at-bat I take the same," Alonso said. "I have the same tenacity, the same approach. At the end of the day, this is postseason baseball and it’s about having fun. I’m happy I was able to come through for the team right there. It’s a big spot. And I’m just happy to make an impact. This clubhouse is so tight-knit. This is definitely one of the most special teams I’ve ever played for. To be able to come through for the boys right there, I’m so happy. I’m just so happy I was able to do that."

Yet as the Dodgers began rallying and the situation became more fraught, Mendoza found himself with little choice but to burn his best relievers in rather extreme ways. With several other arms unavailable due to recent workloads, Mendoza asked Stanek -- traditionally a one-inning reliever -- for seven outs. The right-hander responded with seven big ones. In a five-run game, Mendoza turned from there to Díaz, who recorded the final six outs for the first time in his postseason career.