NEW YORK – Citi Field has been revitalized.

As they fell 3-1 to the Dodgers in the NLCS on Friday night, Mets fans had a new energy – one that supported Francisco Alvarez.

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The young Mets catcher pulled himself out of a disastrous postseason slump and went 3-4 with an RBI and a run scored in a 12-6 win over Los Angeles in Game 5. Alvarez has now reached base in five of his last six at-bats, and he has had four hits in the last two games.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said earlier this week that Alvarez had difficulty making good swing decisions at the plate because he was late to the fastball, something he appears to have corrected in his recent at-bats.

“I was ready for a fastball,” Alvarez said after the game. “I reacted early, which is what I've been working on: I'm shorter to the ball so I can react quicker to the fastball and it doesn't hit you.” This makes me see the ball better and feel better at the plate.

Two days ago, fans called for Alvarez to be benched. It wasn't a crazy request – after Game 3, his postseason slash line was .143/.167/.143 with 13 strikeouts. But in Friday's must-win game, he proved himself worthy of a spot in this playoff lineup.

“I think the most important thing was to keep it simple,” Mendoza said. “Don't try to swing too hard and just be close to the ball, be on time, basically just relax.” When you're struggling, a lot of people hear, “You gotta do this, you gotta do that.” .” Especially at this time of year, the simpler the better. And that’s what he did.”

Alvarez breaking through his slump gave much-needed momentum to an offense that had been stagnant overall over the last two games. In Games 3 and 4, the Mets left 33 runners on base and were 4 of 27 with runners in scoring position. They didn't strike once in Game 5.

Mendoza defended his decision to stick with Alvarez in the lineup this week, saying, “He'll come through for us.” It took until Game 12 of the playoffs for that to happen, but it was the most important one so far (like every game as a result becomes more and more).

The Mets experience another day and return to Los Angeles for Game 6, where Sean Manaea will be back in action for New York on Sunday.