After Game 1, Mets fans could be forgiven for being a little pessimistic. The Mets suffered a 9-0 loss to the Dodgers, marking the most lopsided postseason loss in franchise history. Worse, nothing went right: Kodai Senga couldn't find the plate, the Mets' hitters couldn't find the ball, and the game was essentially over in the bottom of the first inning. Still, Brian Salvatore reminded us that hope was not lost after a difficult opener, even if the loss gave the impression that the Mets might be out of their depth against the best team in baseball. The Mets proved Brian's point with a blowout 7-3 win in Game 2.

Now the series returns to Flushing as a best-of-five and things are feeling significantly better for the team than they did 24 hours ago. This is obviously due in part to recency bias, as things always feel better after a win than after a loss. However, a lot of this also comes from what we saw in the Mets' win yesterday and how the series will unfold in the coming days.

Home advantage

In a best-of-seven series, the rule of thumb is to always split up on the road before getting home. The Mets did that. Check. Mission accomplished. FOX released a statistic that 88% of teams that get a win in the first two games at home win the series. A defeat yesterday would have allowed us to start our off-season planning early. It doesn't matter how ugly the Mets' loss in Game 1 was, because they accomplished what they had to do, most notably by winning the game started by their ace Sean Manaea against the Dodgers' bullpen. Now it's a best-of-five and the Mets have stolen the home game from LA

The present is even more important than statistics and history. To put it simply, the Mets don't lose at home these days. Since August 21, the Mets have lost two games at Citi Field. They have an impressive 14-2 record in that span and have carried the spirit of the home crowd to some incredible victories during that time. The Flushing Faithful are sure to loudly welcome the team home for their biggest games hosted by Citi Field since the 2015 World Series.

If the Mets can win three games here, they would close out the series and punch their ticket to the Fall Classic, even if that's an unlikely outcome. But even if you get two out of three, you return to Los Angeles with two chances to finish and Manaea on the mound for Game 6. It's a good starting position as long as you defend your home field.

Pitching matchups

The Mets got hit in the face in Game 1, Jack Flaherty got no answer. But as Brian pointed out in his post, they lost to their opponent's ace while Senga was clearly still getting back into playing shape. As far as losses go, there's nothing wrong with abandoning the game if you have a clear pitching disadvantage.

The Mets did what they needed to win the Dodgers' bullpen game, and now they return home to face Walker Buehler, who is a shell this year after returning from Tommy John surgery himself was. They will counter with Luis Severino, who has been one of their best pitchers this year. He was also a very different pitcher at Citi Field and had a 2.96 ERA in 1997 ¹⁄₃ innings at Citi Field against a 5.00 ERA in 84 ²⁄₃ innings on the road, which was partly why the Mets held him off until Game 3. The Mets have a chance to steal the series lead right back before facing Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 4.

Edwin Diaz is back

The Mets needed a great performance from Edwin Díaz in Game 2, and he delivered. He got the final four outs and kept the Dodgers from making a final comeback. Although it wasn't a completely clean performance, he got better and better as he went on. He finished his run with 13 straight goals, shutting out Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernández and Freddie Freeman, reaching near triple figures near the end. As Christian Romo said in his article today, the Mets need their closer to look the part the rest of the way, and if he's up to the challenge, the Mets will be tough to beat by one.

This outing should inspire confidence among Mets fans, even if Díaz still causes some consternation in key spots. In general, the bullpen performed well in Game 2, and thanks to the back end of the bullpen gobbling up innings in Sunday's blowout loss, the Mets return to Citi Field with almost all of their big players starting in Game 3 Angels are expected to use another bullpen game, possibly in Game 5 or Game 6. The Mets are in a solid position should there be a Pens battle late in either of those games.

The offensive comes to life

The Dodgers had a 33-inning shutout streak yesterday, tying a postseason record. They had only conceded twelve goals in three shutouts in a row. At one point, they pitched a perfect game, retiring 28 batters in a row. The Mets broke through by allowing ten hits and scoring seven runs. Of course, Los Angeles wasn't planning on blocking their path to the World Series, but they felt invincible at times in those three games, and the Mets came through.

But it wasn't just the offense, which racked up seven runs on 10 hits, but also how they did it. Of course, Francisco Lindor's solo home run and Mark Vientos' grand slam set the pace, leading New York to an early six-run lead, giving the team some confidence and a big lead to work with. The more encouraging sign, however, was that all nine starters reached base and seven of the nine starters had at least one hit. Starling Marte collected three hits, including driving in an insurance run, while Tyrone Taylor hit a clutch double to secure the team's second run. The Mets had contributions across the lineup, going 5-for-9 in 6:19 while driving in two of the team's seven runs.

The Mets will need Vientos and Lindor to keep hitting, and for Pete Alonso to keep coming through with big hits, but to beat the Dodgers and get where they want to go, they will need contributions big and small from their entire roster align. After their lineup made big pitches yesterday, this should give Mets fans reason to believe the offense has what it takes to carry them deeper into October.

All of this is to say that the Game 2 win was a much-needed fresh start for the Mets after a loss in Game 1 where nothing went right, and the road ahead should give fans some confidence. The Dodgers still pose a tough challenge for New York, but by beating them in Game 2, they were able to flip the script on this series and put themselves in a good position heading into New York.