LOS ANGELES (AP) — The New York Mets weren’t sure what they were getting when the Los Angeles Dodgers sent out a parade of relievers in a bullpen game.

They figured it out immediately.

Francisco Lindor And Mark Vientos hit a home run as the Mets snapped the Dodgers’ record-tying postseason scoreless streak with a 7-3 win on Monday, tying the NL Championship Series at one game apiece.

Lindor added his Picture book season with a home run in the first inning against Ryan Brasier. Viento delivered a performance in New York’s second round, hitting a grand slam against Landon Knack.

Before Lindor went deep, Los Angeles had a string of 33 consecutive scoreless innings. Jack Flaherty led the Dodgers to a 9-0 victory in Game 1 of the NLCS on Sunday night.

“I didn’t know,” Lindor said of the Dodgers’ streak. “I just tried to have a good shot and get the guys going.”

Sean Manaea opened Game 2 with four shutout innings for New York. He was charged with three runs, two earned and two hits in more than five innings. Closer Edwin Diaz made a four-out save.

“Having a head start like that just makes it a little easier,” Manaea said. “I just try to attack the guys, get ahead and go after them head on.”

Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani was 0 for 3 with two strikeouts against Manaea and two walks, including one against Diaz. He is 0 for 19 with the bases empty in his first postseason.

“He’s one of the best hitters in the league, but I’ve got some really good stuff,” Diaz said. “I’ll just go after him. Hit the ball, if you can get two hits, I’ll let you chase it.”

Manager Dave Roberts has no intention of ousting Ohtani from the leadership position.

“I want Shohei to get five at-bats a game,” Roberts said. “I think he’s our best hitter and I want him to be up there five times.”

Game 3 of the best-of-seven series takes place on Wednesday in New York.

“It’s not a sprint,” Manaea said. “It will definitely be an exciting series.”

The Mets ran over the Dodgers after flopping the first set.

Lindor fouled four consecutive throws from Brasier before sending a 395-foot shot to right for his home run.

“When you’re faced with a bullpen day, I think it’s hard to game plan, but you’ve got to go out there and make adjustments, whether it’s putting the ball in play, moving a player, a player to come in,” rookie Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “These are the little things you have to do to win games in the playoffs when you’re facing an elite pitching team.”

Knack took over from LA in the second, giving up a leadoff single to Starling Marte before striking out Jesse Winker. One out later, Tyrone Taylor doubled to left to score Marte.

After Francisco Alvarez jumped to shortstop, Lindor was intentionally walked to load the bases. Vientos sent a 391-foot shot up the middle for the third grand slam in Mets playoff history. This increased the lead to 6-0 and the sellout crowd of 52,926 spectators fell silent.

“They have Francisco ahead of me and he hit a home run early in the game, so they would rather take a chance on me than him,” Vientos said. “But I use it as motivation. I’m like, “Okay, do you want me to get up?” I’ll show you, whatever.’”

It was the Mets’ second slam of the playoffs. Lindor scored the go-ahead goal in Game 4 of the NL Division Series against Philadelphia. Edgardo Alfonzo had the club’s first playoff slam in 1999.

The Dodgers had the potential tying run at the plate with two outs in the eighth.

Tommy Edman hit a single and Max Muncy walked before the Mets picked up Diaz for the first time since his exit in the NL Division Series. The runners advanced on a double steal before Kiké Hernández flied out to shallow right field to end the threat.

Before elimination, the Dodgers had a successful bullpen game against San Diego in Game 4 of the NL Division Series, but things were much different against the Mets.

“It’s all great when it’s working well and the guys are shooting zeros, but you’re still up against really good hitters,” Roberts said. “There is a margin to be wary of and really assess the cost of the next few games and not forgetting that this is not a winner take all game. It’s not a three-game series.”

After Muncy hit a home run in the fifth, the Dodgers rallied in the sixth and trailed 6-3, sending the crowd into another frenzy.

Manaea issued consecutive walks to Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernández to open the inning. Freddie Freeman ended up picking a high-jumping fielder to assist, which Jose Iglesias couldn’t cleanly clear. Hernández was safe in second place due to the mistake when Manaea retired.

Edman singled off Phil Maton, scoring two hits for Betts and Hernández. Muncy walked to load the bases again and bring in Kiké Hernández, who jumped to Vientos at third.

Vientos initially wobbled the ball before throwing it to second base, where Muncy slid into the leg of Iglesias. Then Pete Alonso kept his foot on the bag as he stretched to block Iglesias’ throw.

The Dodgers disputed the double play call, but it was upheld and the inning ended.

“I probably had the two strongest attacks of the game and couldn’t get through,” said Kiké Hernández. “Even though we fell behind early, we were there until the end of the game and one shot away. We lost this game but we remain positive and look forward to the next one.”

Manaea was the first left-handed starter the Dodgers faced this postseason. You saw him a lot during his time in San Diego in 2022 and in San Francisco last year. But midway through the season with the Mets, he changed the way he threw the ball, dropping his arm slot and letting the ball fall more horizontally.

“He’s completely different,” Kiké Hernández said. “The ball comes out much wider and deeper than before. The big deficit at the start of the game made us a little more hesitant to be aggressive against him.”

The Mets took advantage of hard-throwing Dodgers rookie Edgardo Henriquez with an insurance run in the ninth.

TRAINER ROOM

Mets: LF Brandon Nimmo has plantar fasciitis in his left foot, which he has struggled with since May.

Dodgers: 2B Gavin Lux did not start because of a right hip flexor injury that forced him out in the seventh inning of Game 1. He was available for a pinch hit.

NEXT

Dodgers RHP Walker Buehler starts Game 3 on Wednesday at Citi Field. RH Luis Severino gets the ball for the Mets.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb