3 mistakes from Carlos Mendoza that cost them NLCS Game 4

The New York Mets lost a frustrating Game 3 of the NLDS to fall behind against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but they had an opportunity to do something they've done all season long as well as any team in the majors - punch back. Sure, the loss on Wednesday was bad, but a win on Thursday would've evened up the series with another home game to follow. Unfortunately, Game 4 of the series was nearly as ugly as Game 3.

New York lost 10-2, continuing their frustrating trends of walking the ballpark, failing to get Max Muncy out, and leaving several base runners on the base paths. The Mets now trail the series three games to one, needing a miracle to defeat what looks like the best team in the game right now.

As the 10-2 final score notes, it is not Carlos Mendoza's fault that the Mets lost this game. No manager would've won this game for the Mets, and the fact that the Mets are even still playing shows the kind of job that Mendoza has done in his rookie season as a manager. Still, while he doesn't deserve all of the blame, Mendoza did make several mistakes that cost New York greatly.

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3. The Mets could not afford to wave the white flag, yet that's exactly what Carlos Mendoza did

If there's one thing this Mets team is known for, it's their ability to come back no matter the circumstance. Whether it's the Francisco Lindor home run in Game 161 to send the Mets to the postseason, the Pete Alonso home run in the Wild Card Series to keep their season alive, the comebacks against the Phillies bullpen in Games 1, 2, and 4 of the NLDS, they've had big moment after big moment. Sure, they trailed 7-2 after seven innings, but did the game feel completely over?

In the sixth inning, the Mets loaded the bases with nobody out against Evan Phillips and didn't score. In the seventh inning, they got a pair of runners on base against Blake Treinen and didn't score. Not scoring was frustrating, but the Mets had five base runners in two innings against arguably the two best relievers in this Dodgers bullpen. They were battling back and showing signs of life, even if the big hit had eluded them. That same big hit eluded them in Game 4 of the NLDS before Lindor launched what proved to be the game-winning grand slam. We've seen this team break out before.

Instead of giving this offense a chance to battle back from a somewhat manageable deficit, or, at the very least, force Dave Roberts to think about burning another one or two of his high-leverage arms, Mendoza inexplicably stuck with Danny Young, the worst reliever on the roster, to start the eighth inning. Using the left-handed pitching Young against Shohei Ohtani when he held lefties to a .527 OPS in the regular season made sense when the Dodgers threatened to extend their lead in the seventh, but that should've been it. The Dodgers had a string of right-handed hitters due up, and the Mets had Ryne Stanek and potentially Reed Garrett available.

Predictably, Young would allow five of the first six hitters he faced in the eighth inning to reach base, and the Dodgers tacked on three more runs, extending their lead to 10-2. What would've already been a tough comeback attempt had it been 7-2, was made nearly impossible thanks to this decision.

Would the Mets have won this game had Mendoza gone to a reliever like Stanek? Probably not, but essentially waving the white flag in that spot did not make sense. The Mets, with their season in the balance, had nothing to lose by using a rested Stanek and hoping that their offense had another magical moment in them. Instead, they allowed the Dodgers to deliver the knockout blow.

2. It's clear that Jose Quintana should've been pulled earlier than he was

For the first time in a couple of months, Jose Quintana simply did not have it. He allowed a total of three earned runs in his final six regular season starts, and hadn't allowed a single earned run in either of his postseason starts before tonight. Unfortunately, Shohei Ohtani took him deep on the second pitch of the game, and Quintana would only struggle from there.

Command was an issue all night for Quintana, as evidenced by his four walks issued, so he should not have been given rope with the Mets trailing 2-1 in the series and even despite their ugly Game 3 loss, having a pretty rested bullpen outside of Tylor Megill.

It felt all along as if Quintana, after allowing three hits and two walks in the third inning alone, was lucky just to get through three. Jose Butto should've begun the fourth inning. Quintana did instead, and the result was two of the first three hitters of the inning reaching base (with the only out being a hard-hit line out).

The margin for error was slim for Jose Butto, a pitcher who doesn't enter in the middle of an inning often, and sure enough, Butto surrendered a two-run double to Mookie Betts, extending the Dodgers' lead from 3-2 to 5-2. Butto obviously had to throw a better pitch to Betts, but Quintana shouldn't have allowed the two runners to get on base when it was clear all night that he was not sharp.

Making early pitching changes is never fun and puts a heavy strain on the bullpen, but it also can give a team a chance on a day when its starter is ineffective. Instead of worrying about Game 5 (like he did with the Young decision as well), Mendoza should've been more aggressive in trying to win Game 4.

1. Carlos Mendoza inexplicably kept one of the hottest hitters in the Mets lineup pinned to the bench again

Despite the horrific Game 1 loss, the Mets did their job in Los Angeles, securing a split of the two games at Dodger Stadium before sending the series back to New York. Jesse Winker played a huge role in that Game 2 win, recording one hit in three at-bats while also drawing two walks. He reached base in four of his eight plate appearances in Los Angeles, and had a 1.076 OPS in his 31 postseason plate appearances overall. Outside of Mark Vientos, nobody in this Mets lineup had swung a hotter bat than Winker.

Winker's outstanding showing in Los Angeles and all October long wasn't good enough, apparently, as he found himself pinned to the bench in Game 3 against Walker Buehler, a pitcher who Winker had great career numbers against and who struggled mightily against left-handed hitters this season. New York was shut out in Game 3, giving Mendoza reason to really shake things up, starting with inserting Winker back into his rightful place in the starting lineup. That, for whatever reason, didn't happen.

Martinez wasn't at fault for this loss, and even drew two walks on the night, but the Mets used Winker for just one at-bat. In that one at-bat, with the bases loaded, Winker drove a ball to the warning track that was caught. It was a crushing out, but it was also one of their best swings of the night, and their best swing with runners in scoring position.

Would the Mets have won this game with Winker starting? Probably not. Would their offense had stood a better chance? Yup. Yoshinobu Yamamoto's reverse splits made starting right-handed hitters tempting, but Martinez has been a non-factor for months and didn't get on base against Yamamoto. Mendoza sticking with him for a second straight day over Winker, one of their best hitters right now, was inexcusable.