NL DIVISION SERIES: METS VS PHILLIES

October 8, 2024

Sean Manaea

Pete Alonso

Citi Field

New York Mets

Postgame 3 Press Conference

Q. Your voice was a little raspy yesterday. How are you feeling health-wise?

SEAN MANAEA: Health-wise I feel good. Yeah. I think my voice has recovered a little bit. So I'll take it.

Q. It's not the Manaea flu game?

SEAN MANAEA: No, definitely not.

Q. Also, just when you kissed the sky after you came out of the game, you tipped your hat and you kissed the crowd and then you looked up at the sky and kissed the sky. Who was that for?

SEAN MANAEA: That was for my Aunt Mabel. Just got a message that she had passed away early this morning. And, yeah, so that game was for her.

Q. In the sixth inning with two guys on base, Bryce Harper at-bat, what was your mindset going into that at-bat and what was your approach heading into facing Harper?

SEAN MANAEA: It was just attack, not try to be too fine with things. Attacking him and not trying to be too cute or too fancy. Really just the energy going towards him and I knew the defense behind me is incredible. We can do incredible things. Just got to trust that. Just went right after it.

Q. Sean, knowing the bullpen and how taxed it's been lately, how important was it to get into the eighth inning?

SEAN MANAEA: It's huge. These guys have been doing incredible work the whole year. Playoffs is no different. And obviously they've been throwing a lot. And for me that's always the goal is to go do as deep as possible. And I was just really excited I was able to do that.

Q. I saw Luis Severino and Jose Quintana both had the 59 on their faces. What does it mean to you to kind of have that support and how has the bond within this rotation grown especially playing in October?

SEAN MANAEA: Yeah, at the end of the day we're all just big kids, I think. And when you get to have fun and support each other and just be boys, really cool, special things can happen. And I think that's what happened with the staff. Not just the staff, but the whole team. There's a lot of silly things that we do. At the end of the day it's just -- it grows us together. Yeah, at the end of the day we're just having fun and try to win ball games.

Q. For both of you guys. The Mets in their history of Citi Field have never had a clinching celebration here. What would it mean to finish it off tomorrow and have one of those?

SEAN MANAEA: Be huge. At the end of the day we've just got to win. That's all that really matters. If that's here, it would be amazing. If not, then we've just got to finish it up.

PETE ALONSO: Yeah, I mean it would be fantastic to get it done. But we've got to stay within ourselves, focus on the task at hand pitch to pitch, out to out, inning to inning. I believe if we can do that, stay right there in the groove of things and don't try to do too much in each moment, I think we'll be able to get it done tomorrow.

Q. Pete, you were seemingly encouraging the fans to cheer there in that moment in the eighth inning, and they seemed to respond to you. What was your thinking there and what did you think of the response?

SEAN MANAEA: One thing, playing on the road, the one thing that we did a really good job of was kind of sucking the energy out of the stadiums. And I think, because playoffs, no doubt there's a huge energy component to it, whether the crowd is in it or not into it.

It wasn't necessarily a perfect inning, and there was kind of a lull. But it's like, listen, we're still up, every pitch, every out matters. I was like, come on, like, it's okay, we're still in a good spot. The more loud and the more supportive that every pitch, like the more loud that we get, it's a huge advantage to us.

So it's keeping that energy up and maintaining that energy and maintaining that momentum because it's huge.

Q. Pete, what did it mean to you to jump-start Game 3 with that homer in the second?

PETE ALONSO: I'm just happy I put a good swing on the ball. Me and Aaron, like, we've faced each other a lot over the years, whether it's in the Big Leagues or in college. So he knows me; I know him. I'm just really happy because he's a great talented pitcher. He's a well-polished guy and he's tough. I'm just happy I was able to come through for the team right there.

Q. Carlos said there was something special about your demeanor today. Anything you would pinpoint?

SEAN MANAEA: Just working on my breath. Those moments are huge, and I don't need to up the energy by myself. So it's really just using what I have and just using that moment to focus in and execute. I think I've been doing a pretty good job of that the last two starts I've had. Today was no different. It was a huge moment.

Q. Sean, how special was it after everything you've been through in your career to have a performance like you did tonight in a game where the stakes were as high as they were?

SEAN MANAEA: It's huge. I didn't have the most, I don't know, amazing career. But through the ups and downs, and through the hardships, that's what makes games like this mean so much. It's a part of the work that I've been able to do, not just myself, the whole team. Everybody I've been working with, just put so much time and effort into it. To have results like this is an unbelievable feeling.

Q. Pete, when you're hitting the opposite field home runs like that, does that tell you that you're locked in at the plate?

PETE ALONSO: Right now I'm just trying to get a pitch I can handle and just put a good swing on it and stay within myself. Wherever it goes out, if it does, I'm just happy it does. It's just a product of a good swing, and pitch was away, so I'm really glad. If I'm hitting balls the other way, it's typically a good sign.

Q. And then compared to two weeks ago when you played that home game here with the standing O, it was pretty emotional for the crowd, maybe for yourself. How different was today, maybe monkey off your back, not having all that pressure, perhaps?

PETE ALONSO: Honestly, this was the goal. Like, I really am happy I acknowledge. But the whole vision, the whole goal was that wasn't going to be the last game for us. So collectively as a group we want to stay locked in, but hopefully we can have a lot more baseball here.

Q. Following up, Pete, on your opposite field success, fundamentally, mechanics-wise, what do you attribute that to and how much did you focus on that late in the season?

PETE ALONSO: It's more so just hitting the ball where it's pitched and hitting the ball on the sweet spot of the bat. That's pretty much all I'm trying to do every single AB. I'm just really happy I was able to capitalize on some opportunities.

Just staying within myself, staying within my approach, and just hitting the ball right on the screws.

Q. Historically you've also had success against Nola. You have seven home runs in your career hitting knuckle curves, which is his primary pitch. He doesn't seem to throw it especially in key moments against you. I wonder whether you think he stays away from it, knowing that that is a pitch you hit well. Take me through the way that battle has played out.

PETE ALONSO: He's got command all of his pitches. I think it's more so just the cat-and-mouse game. He knows who I am. I mean, we've faced each other, I mean, since 2014, and obviously I know who he is. So every time it's just trying to crack the code. How is he trying to get me out today. What's he trying to get ahead with.

Granted, he's got control, really pinpoint control over all of his pitches. I was just looking for a fastball out over the plate and just stay through it and then just drive the ball to the big part of the field.

Q. You didn't think he was going to start with a knuckle curve in that spot?

PETE ALONSO: I didn't believe so, no. I didn't think so. I just wanted to see a fastball out over the plate and hit it hard.

Q. What did you think of Jesse Winker's shot halfway up the upper deck there?

PETE ALONSO: Hitting a pole-side pump like that in the playoffs, yeah, he deserves to stand there like that. The crowd just absolutely went bonkers. I know he had that weird, messed up, like play in the second inning where it was like was it a hit, was it not a hit.

But to capture momentum in the game, like, that was absolutely massive. Yeah, if you're going to hit a ball, I think however far it was, like 450 feet, then, yeah, he can for sure look at it.

Q. What is it about his knack to fire you guys up? He's had a lot of plays that have been big plays, emotional plays. He's emotional on the field.

SEAN MANAEA: I mean, Jess, he comes with it. He plays the game with a full head of steam. He honestly plays the game of baseball like a middle linebacker. He's just full intensity, like full-bore all the time. And he's always super high energy. You love that, like the passion that he brings to the table. You love to see that. And it's a pleasure sharing a locker room with him because never doubt that Jesse is always ready to go.

Q. Sean, the last time you faced the Phillies in the postseason it didn't go so well for you. I think you mentioned that you had to revamp some of your pitching. What does it mean to you to have this success against Phillies given that history?

SEAN MANAEA: Yeah, like I said before, I've had a lot of ups. I've had way more downs throughout my career. That moment for me was rock bottom pretty much. Because it was that night that I emailed that something has got to change, and we've got to fix something here.

And, yeah, to be as low as I was there and to be here now, just such an incredible feeling to be able to persevere through all that and super proud of myself for that.

Q. Pete, just as someone who prides himself on coming through for the team, how much are you enjoying this postseason and what you've been able to do so far?

SEAN MANAEA: This whole experience has just been incredible. I mean, you can't get to the postseason without reflecting back on the regular season. It's truly tremendous the amount of adversity we overcame through like the -- I mean, yeah, we were 11 games under and we grinded through that, got it right around .500. We keep continuing to believe in each other and keep continuing to just trust the process.

I mean, the amount of resiliency that this team has is just truly incredible. And I mean, now in the postseason to be doing what we're doing as a group, it's really special. I mean, this is really special stuff here. You can't make it up.