The Mets’ Sean Manaea wants to rewrite the personal story of the Dodgers’ problems

LOS ANGELES – Welcome to the latest stop on Sean Manaea’s redemption tour.

The left-hander came into these playoffs with a 15.26 ERA in three postseason games.

In his first appearance in October, he held the Brewers to two runs in five innings, dispelling any concerns that he wasn’t suited for the big games.

Manaea made his second start this October against the Phillies, the same club that beat him for five runs in 1 ¹/₃ innings in the 2022 NLCS, sending a reeling Manaea to the Driveline pitching factory to figure out what went wrong was.

Manaea then limited the Phillies to one run in seven-plus innings to win Game 3 of the NLDS.

The final stop on the road to his hoped-for full rehabilitation comes against the Dodgers, a team that has thoroughly dominated him throughout his career.

Manaea spent the previous two years in the NL West with the Padres and Giants, seeing the Dodgers often and enjoying seeing them infrequently, posting a 7.09 ERA in 11 career games against Los Angeles.

Another chapter that Manaea wants to rewrite.

“A few teams have had my number over the years,” said Manaea, who will get the ball for Game 2 of the NLCS. “And I feel like I had to – the baseball gods gave me the opportunity to go out there and prove myself over and over again, just to be able to go out there and get some good results.

“And this team is no different.”

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Otherwise, this team is different. Mookie Betts has a career 1.153 OPS with three home runs in 32 at-bats against Manaea. Despite the left-left duel, Freddie Freeman hit him well (.839 OPS). Shohei Ohtani faced him nine times and reached base four times. Will Smith is 9 of 18 against Manaea.

Of course, Manaea can convincingly argue that these numbers were cumulative against another pitcher. It throws harder than, say, the 2022 version. It added a sweeper that the Manaea didn’t throw in early 2023. And this year, he changed arm angles midway through the season, resulting in a dominant 10-start stretch from late July to mid-September in which he averaged 6.5 innings per start while posting a 2.49 ERA.

“Obviously I regressed,” Manaea said of the difference between him now and the game against the Dodgers in April. “And the mechanical things were different, the pitches are pretty much the same.

“Overall, I’ve become a little more confident about the things I do.”

Just as Manaea found herself, the Mets found their ace. When he takes the mound on Monday, he will have another chance to show that he is no longer the pitcher he once was.

“Obviously they’re a very talented team and I’ve played against them several times throughout my career,” Manaea said before the series began Sunday at Dodger Stadium. “Had some good ones and definitely a lot of bad ones.

“I just try to do my best, go out there and just give the guys a chance to win.”