NLCS Game 6: Mets power back to force Game 7, 4-2 over Cardinals
October 18, 2006 
The Mets’ bats were back in the NLCS Game 6 tonight, starting with Jose Reyes’ leadoff homerun in the first inning, to beat the Cardinals 4-2 and force a Game 7 tomorrow night at Shea. Not to mention our main man, John Maine’s shutout pitching!
Maybe this really is the team, the time, the year, afterall.
Here’s tonight’s game in a nutshell:
Sense of October: After the Cardinals had threatened in the top half of the first, Reyes stepped to the plate against Carpenter. With the packed house of 56,334 chanting his name, Reyes ripped a 1-1 pitch over the right-field wall to give the Mets a 1-0 lead. The pumped-up crowd energized Maine and the Mets to defeat the Cardinals. […] Reyes became the fourth player in Mets history to lead off a postseason game with a home run.
As the Mets have seen time and time again this season, run support really does matter. Especially when a rookie pitcher like John Maine needs the extra support to get into his groove.
Even Billy Wagner came through in the ninth, after nearly giving thousands of Mets fans heart attacks. But that’s how he rolls.
And that’s the way you reduce the NLCS to what is essentially a 1-game series and force a Game 7. And the Mets did it in style.
The only real question is this: who is starting on the pitcher’s mound tomorrow night? Oliver Perez or Darren Oliver seem the likely choices. Of course, a group effort wouldn’t be out of the question, but if Perez wants to power through like Maine did tonight, then that would be great, too.
Or maybe its just about which team has the most heart:
“It won’t come down to matchups,” Mets third baseman David Wright said. “[Game 7] is going to be all about heart and who wants it more.
So tomorrow the Mets have a chance to clinch their first World Series berth since 2000. One game will decide whether the season ends tomorrow or if the Mets face the Tigers in the Fall Classic. If that doesn’t get you excited, then you are surely dead!
UPDATE: Oliver Perez will start Game 7.
October 23rd, 2006 at 12:55 PM
MMm baseball. I was at a Dodger game not too long ago. I was sad that we fell out of the race so soon
I came through for click and comment monday, have a good day!
October 23rd, 2006 at 12:56 PM
Also. OMG. I just noticed that you are going to see BNL and I am insanely jealous. That is all.