The first four games on their postseason road couldn’t have been more smooth for the Mets.
They carried their four straight playoff victories into Game 2 of the NLCS against the Cardinals last night at Shea, clutching their status as the only remaining postseason contender that had yet to lose a game in the playoffs.
The Tigers are the only other club close; their 3-0 triumph last night at Comerica Park that gave them a 3-0 lead over Oakland in the ALCS gave Detroit a 6-1 postseason mark.
Oakland was the only team besides the Mets to sweep its first-round series, but the A’s responded by dropping three straight to begin the ALCS.
The Mets, though, were 4-0 in the playoffs going into last night, having swept three games from the Dodgers in the NLDS and the opener from the Cardinals in the NLCS. Through the Mets’ first 36 postseason innings, they trailed in only three.
Carlos Delgado insisted yesterday that “it’s not easy.” The first baseman, though, wouldn’t say he’s surprised at the team’s suc cess.
“I hate to use the word ‘surprised.’ I’ve been around the game long enough that nothing really surprises me,” he said before the Mets took the field for Game 2. “When the playoffs started, when we were playing L.A., we were confident. We knew that it wasn’t going to be easy, but we knew that we had the personnel, the talent to go out and win, and we’ve been playing good baseball.
“I guess if this team plays good baseball, if we execute, we can win. We can match up with anybody; we can win the whole thing.
“So I guess if you’re playing good, you’re not going to be surprised. If you play bad, you’re going to be trailing. So I guess it’s the same for every team. If you play good baseball, chances are, you’re going to win.”
As Delgado said, the Mets have been playing well. In Game 1 of the NLCS on Wednesday night at Shea, the Mets didn’t trail at all, as Tom Glavine tossed seven scoreless innings, and relievers Guillermo Mota and Billy Wagner didn’t permit any runs in the eighth and ninth, respectively.
In the NLDS against the Dodgers, the Mets were down for two innings in Game 1 at Shea, trailing 1-0 after the second and third frames. They didn’t trail at any point in Game 2 of the NLDS, then were down for only one inning (the fifth) in Game 3 in Los Angeles.
The Mets have actually begun the playoffs by resembling their sensational regular-season start; in opening the campaign 7-1, the Mets only trailed in two of their first 73 innings.
For 33 of their first 36 innings in the playoffs, they had either been even or ahead. In starting out the playoffs undefeated, it hasn’t been a difficult accomplishment.
