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Michael Kopech will start Game 6 of the National League Championship Series for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who plan to send a parade of relievers to the mound in an attempt to win their record 25th NL pennant.

The right-hander opens Sunday’s bullpen game at Dodger Stadium against the New York Mets, who trail the best-of-seven series 3-2.

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“Just feel that it’s the best chance to put up a zero in the first inning and then move forward,” manager Dave Roberts said before the game. “We’re going to deploy a lot of different guys.”

Kopech last pitched on Wednesday in Game 3, which was his lone appearance in the NLCS. He got the win, striking out one batter in one scoreless inning. He has appeared in five playoff games, allowing one hit and walking two while striking out six in 4 1/3 scoreless innings.

Kopech came to the Dodgers from the Chicago White Sox at the July trade deadline as part of a three-team trade. In 24 games for the Dodgers, Kopech was 4-0 with a 1.13 ERA, 29 strikeouts and six saves in 24 innings.

Kopech was one of several well-rested Dodgers relievers heading into the game.

All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman won’t be in the Dodgers lineup. He’s been struggling with a sprained right ankle and was replaced by Max Muncy, who will bat fifth.

“He just felt, we felt, that giving him another day is best for him,” Roberts said. “Just doesn’t feel like himself.”

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Juan Soto hit a three-run homer with two outs in the 10th inning and the New York Yankees advanced to their 41st World Series — and first in 15 years — by beating the Cleveland Guardians 5-2 in Game 5 of the ALCS on Saturday night.

Baseball’s biggest brand is going back to October’s main stage.

Soto, who was acquired in a seven-player trade with the San Diego Padres in December, moved the Bronx Bombers into position with one big swing.

The Yankees will try to win their 28th title against either the New York Mets or Los Angeles Dodgers. Game 6 of the NLCS is on Sunday at Dodger Stadium.

In the 10th, Austin Wells walked with one out and Alex Verdugo followed with a grounder to second baseman Andrés Giménez, whose soft toss to the bag was dropped by rookie shortstop Brayan Rocchio for an error.

Gaddis struck out Gleyber Torres and had Soto in a 1-2 count before New York’s stylish outfielder sent a shot over the wall in center. Soto danced down the first-base line and paused to celebrate with his teammates before circling the bases.

“I was just saying to myself, `You’re all over that guy. You’re all over that guy. He ain’t got anything,'” Soto said.

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Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run homer for the Yankees, who took care of the Guardians in five games, but it wasn’t easy.

New York won the first two at Yankee Stadium without much fanfare or any major drama. However, it was a different story in Cleveland as all three games at Progressive Field were nail-biters.

The Guardians rallied to win Game 3 on two, two-run homers in their last two at-bats, and the Yankees held on to win Game 4 after blowing a four-run lead.

Cleveland just didn’t have enough and a surprising season under first-year manager Stephen Vogt ended just short of a World Series. The franchise remains without a title since 1948, baseball’s current longest drought.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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NEW YORK — Friday evening at Citi Field began with The Temptations singing their 1965 hit single “My Girl” in an ode to Francisco Lindor’s walk-up song. Lindor, while warming up on the field, smiled and sang along to the lyrics. Pete Alonso, stretching before what could be his final home game as a Met, joined in, too, and pretty soon the crowd — understandably tense before an elimination game — relaxed a little. Watching the jovial scene unfold in Queens, it was hard to tell that the Mets had lost by eight runs on each of the previous two days and were facing elimination. 

If they seemed loose and carefree mere minutes before southpaw David Peterson threw the first pitch of the game, it’s because that’s how they showed up to Citi Field ahead of Game 5 of the National League Championship Series. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza walked into the hitters’ meeting and everyone was smiling. Hours before their most important game of the year — yes, another one of those — New York’s happy-go-lucky attitude foreshadowed the pain they would inflict on the Dodgers.

“That’s who we are,” Mendoza said. “There’s no tomorrow for us. But we’ve been in this situation before. So, nothing new.”

After Peterson stranded Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani on second in the first inning — lifting the crowd’s energy from unease to optimism — Alonso followed by lifting a three-run blast off Jack Flaherty in the bottom of the frame. The Polar Bear’s fourth home run of October was a harbinger of the offensive outburst that was to come. The Mets tallied 14 hits, the second-most in postseason franchise history, in their 12-6 win over the Dodgers in Game 5. 

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The onslaught was a product of sticking to the plan, capitalizing on Flaherty’s drop in velocity and refusing to chase outside the zone. The Mets wound up tagging Flaherty for eight runs in just three innings. Besides Alonso’s long ball, they drew key walks, enjoyed timely hitting, and played small ball to overwhelm Los Angeles’ pitching staff. Starling Marte went 4-for-5 with three RBIs, Lindor collected a stand-up RBI triple, Jesse Winker reached base in four of his five plate appearances and catcher Francisco Alvarez went 3-for-4, too. 

On top of all the scoring, the Mets didn’t strike out once — a feat unseen in the postseason since the 2002 World Series by the Angels.

Friday was the kind of complete effort the Mets needed to remind themselves of their ceiling. 

“The quality of at-bats that we had, the intensity that we needed every inning, we understood that,” Lindor said. “And we had to give everything that we had, and that’s what we did.”

As the Dodgers threatened to put an end to this improbable run, the Mets leaned on the experience and the results that got them to this point. Their slugging first baseman, throughout these past few victorious weeks, has been right in the middle of it. Of Alonso’s five career postseason homers, four have given the Mets the lead — including three in the past two weeks alone. Not bad for one of baseball’s most powerful hitters just weeks away from entering free agency. 

Like Betts said on Wednesday, the Mets didn’t become one of the final four teams standing because of luck. They also didn’t reach this point because of a McDonald’s mascot or a hit Latin pop song. On Friday, the Mets reminded everyone why they’re only two wins away from advancing to the World Series: When they’re at their best, they can beat anyone. 

“We’ll be ready. We love opportunities,” Alonso said. “This is what we want to continue to play for. Today was all about, figure it out, get to Game 6. And we have that opportunity, and it’s going to be the same mentality: figure it out, get to 7. That’s what it is. Survive the day. And we did. And we’re really, really excited for the opportunity coming up.”

In a season overloaded with surprises, the Mets have the opportunity to pull off their greatest upset yet. They forced a flight back to Los Angeles for Game 6, which will take place Sunday night at Chavez Ravine, by focusing only on the 27 outs that could save their season rather than getting overwhelmed by the big picture. All baseball teams like to say they don’t look too far ahead, and instead prefer to take things day-to-day, but Mendoza’s Mets have executed that mindset better than most this season.

The Mets are attempting to become the ninth team in LCS history (AL or NL) to come back from a 3-1 hole. For motivation, they’ll be reminding themselves that they’re 2-0 in elimination games this year. 

“We’ve had success focusing on the process for 4-5 months now, and it’s not the time to change it,” Brandon Nimmo said. “We’re just trying to beat on that dam until it finally breaks, and it broke tonight.”

On The Temptations’ official website, the Motown legends bill their story as “an epic journey of courage, struggle, triumphs, setbacks, and ultimately, international superstardom.” 

Sounds a lot like the 2024 Mets.

Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

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Cleveland All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase gave up two runs in the ninth inning and the New York Yankees moved closer to another World Series, beating the Guardians 8-6 on Friday night to take a 3-1 lead in the American League Championship Series.

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Gleyber Torres hit an RBI single and New York scored its go-ahead run on an error by shortstop Brayan Rocchio, who booted Alex Verdugo’s grounder.

It was a messy ninth for Clase (0-2) as baseball’s best reliever all season faltered for the second night in a row.

New York got three singles in the ninth off the right-hander, who gave up back-to-back homers in the eighth inning of Game 3 but got bailed out when the Guardians got a pair of two-run homers in their final two at-bats.

Giancarlo Stanton hit a three-run homer and Juan Soto hit a two-run shot for the Yankees, who can advance to their 41st World Series with a win in Game 5 on Saturday.

The Guardians are facing elimination in the postseason for the second time. They rallied in the ALDS to get past Detroit and now will have to win three straight — two at Yankee Stadium — to have any chance of ending their 76-year World Series drought.

For the second straight night, New York’s bullpen nearly blew a late lead. The Guardians scored three runs in the seventh, one in the eighth and threatened in the ninth, putting two runners on base.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone went to Tommy Kahnle for the last three outs and the right-hander was able to put away Cleveland, something New York’s relievers couldn’t do Thursday.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Yankees: RHP Ian Hamilton’s calf injury was severe enough that he was dropped from the ALCS roster and replaced by Mark Leiter Jr. Hamilton got hurt while covering first base in the sixth inning of Game 3. He won’t be eligible for the World Series if New York advances. Boone said he considered adding lefty Nestor Torres, but wants to give the lefty as much time as possible to recover from an elbow strain.

UP NEXT

Yankees LHP Carlos Rodón makes his second start of the series after a strong Game 1 outing — one run and three hits with nine strikeouts in six innings. He’ll face Guardians right-hander Tanner Bibee, who was pulled after just 39 pitches in Game 2 and will pitch on three days’ rest.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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NEW YORK — Friday evening at Citi Field began with The Temptations singing their 1965 hit single “My Girl” in an ode to Francisco Lindor’s walk-up song. Lindor, while warming up on the field, smiled and sang along to the lyrics. Pete Alonso, stretching before what could be his final home game as a Met, joined in, too, and pretty soon the crowd — understandably tense before an elimination game — relaxed a little. Watching the jovial scene unfold in Queens, it was hard to tell that the Mets were backed into a corner. 

If they seemed loose and carefree mere minutes before southpaw David Peterson threw the first pitch of the game, it was because that’s how they showed up to Citi Field ahead of Game 5 of the National League Championship Series. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza walked into the hitters’ meeting and everyone was smiling. Hours before their most important game of the year — yes, another one of those — New York’s happy-go-lucky attitude foreshadowed the pain they would inflict on the Dodgers.

“That’s who we are,” Mendoza said. “There’s no tomorrow for us. But we’ve been in this situation before. So, nothing new.”

After Peterson stranded Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani on second and third base in the first inning — lifting the crowd’s energy from unease to optimism — Alonso followed by lifting a three-run blast off Jack Flaherty in the bottom of the frame. The Polar Bear’s fourth home run of October was a harbinger of the offensive outburst that was to come. The Mets tallied 14 hits, the second-most in postseason franchise history, in their 12-6 win over the Dodgers in Game 5. 

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The onslaught was a product of sticking to the plan, capitalizing on Flaherty’s drop in velocity and refusing to chase outside the zone. The Mets wound up tagging Flaherty for eight runs in just three innings. Besides Alonso’s long ball, they drew key walks, enjoyed timely hitting, and played small ball to overwhelm Los Angeles’ pitching staff. Starling Marte went 4-for-5 with three RBIs, Lindor collected a stand-up RBI triple, Jesse Winker reached base in four of his five plate appearances and catcher Francisco Alvarez went 3-for-4, too. On top of all the runs produced, the Mets didn’t strike out once.

It was the kind of complete effort the Mets needed to remind themselves of their ceiling. 

“The quality of at-bats that we had, the intensity that we needed every inning, we understood that,” Lindor said. “And we had to give everything that we had, and that’s what we did.”

As the Dodgers threatened to put an end to this improbable run, the Mets leaned on the experience and the results that got them to this point. Their slugging first baseman, throughout these past few victorious weeks, has been right in the middle of it. Of Alonso’s five career postseason homers, four have given the Mets the lead — including three in the past two weeks alone. Not bad for one of baseball’s most powerful hitters just weeks away from entering free agency. 

Like Mookie Betts said on Wednesday, the Mets didn’t become one of the final four teams standing because of luck. They also didn’t reach this point because of a McDonald’s mascot or a hit Latin pop song. On Friday, the Mets reminded everyone why they’re only two wins away from advancing to the World Series: When they’re at their best, they can beat anyone. 

“We’ll be ready. We love opportunities,” Alonso said. “This is what we want to continue to play for. Today was all about, figure it out, get to Game 6. And we have that opportunity, and it’s going to be the same mentality: figure it out, get to 7. That’s what it is. Survive the day. And we did. And we’re really, really excited for the opportunity coming up.”

In a season overloaded with surprises, the Mets have the opportunity to pull off their greatest upset yet. They forced a flight back to Los Angeles for Game 6, which will take place on Sunday night at Chavez Ravine, by focusing only on the 27 outs that could save their season rather than getting overwhelmed by the big picture. All baseball teams like to say they don’t look too far ahead, and instead prefer to take things day-to-day, but Mendoza’s Mets have executed that mindset better than most this season.

The Mets are attempting to become the ninth team in LCS history (AL or NL) to come back from a 3-1 hole. For motivation, they’ll be reminding themselves that they’re 2-0 in elimination games this year. 

“We’ve had success focusing on the process for 4-5 months now, and it’s not the time to change it,” Brandon Nimmo said. “We’re just trying to beat on that dam until it finally breaks, and it broke tonight.”

On The Temptations’ official website, the Motown legends bill their story as “an epic journey of courage, struggle, triumphs, setbacks, and ultimately, international superstardom.” 

Sounds a lot like the 2024 Mets.

Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

[Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.]

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Pete Alonso golfed an early three-run homer and the New York Mets hammered an ineffective Jack Flaherty, extending the National League Championship Series with a 12-6 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 on Friday.

Starling Marte had three doubles, four hits and three RBIs for New York. Francisco Alvarez broke out of a slump with three hits — including an RBI single in a five-run third inning. Francisco Lindor and Jesse Winker each laced an RBI triple.

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After getting blown out in three of the first four games, including the past two nights at home, the wild-card Mets saved their season for the second time in these playoffs — both with the help of a three-run shot by Alonso. They trimmed their series deficit to 3-2 and sent the best-of-seven NLCS back to Los Angeles for Game 6 on Sunday.

Sean Manaea is expected to start for New York on five days’ rest, while the Dodgers are likely to go with another bullpen game because of a thin rotation decimated by injuries.

With an opportunity to pitch his hometown team into the World Series, Flaherty flopped. After throwing seven shutout innings of two-hit ball in a Game 1 win, he fell behind 3-0 four batters in when Alonso launched a low slider 432 feet to center field for his fourth homer this postseason.

Alonso, poised to become a prized free agent this fall, also connected on a go-ahead shot with the Mets facing elimination in Game 3 of their Wild Card Series in Milwaukee. That one was more dramatic, coming with New York trailing 2-0 and down to its final two outs in the ninth.

But once again, Alonso went deep to help extend his tenure in a Mets uniform.

Flaherty allowed eight runs and eight hits in three innings. He failed to strike out a batter for the first time since a September 2022 game with St. Louis against Pittsburgh.

After striking out 12 times Thursday night, the Mets did not whiff once in Game 5.

Handed an 8-1 lead, New York starter David Peterson was unable to make it through the fourth.

Dodgers rookie Andy Pages homered twice and drove in four runs. Mookie Betts went deep for the second consecutive game, helping Los Angeles cut an eight-run deficit to 10-6.

But then relievers Ryne Stanek and Edwin Díaz settled things down, and the Mets put this one away. Stanek worked a career-high 2 1/3 innings for the victory, and Díaz got six outs without permitting a run.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Dodgers: All-Star 1B Freddie Freeman returned to the lineup after sitting out Thursday with a badly sprained right ankle that’s caused him to miss two games this postseason. Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said there wasn’t much temptation to rest Freeman against a left-hander again and give him a string of days off in a row. “I think the one day was good,” Roberts said before the game. “Yes, another day would probably have been better, certainly. But I just feel that I want to put our best lineup out there today. I want to win tonight.”

Mets: Jeff McNeil had two sacrifice flies in his first playoff start, replacing slumping Jose Iglesias at second base. McNeil was added to the roster for the NLCS — he had been sidelined since Sept. 6 by a broken right wrist — and was hitless in three pinch-hitting appearances before Friday.

UP NEXT

Manaea (12-6, 3.47 ERA) is 2-0 with 2.65 ERA in three playoff starts, including a Game 2 victory at Dodger Stadium.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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