LOS ANGELES — After 6 ¹/u2082 months of coming to the ballpark and knowing, win or lose, there always would be another battle to fight this season, the Mets face the new reality Thursday that tomorrow is not guaranteed.
Whiffing in their first attempt to clinch the NLDS on Tuesday, when Clayton Kershaw refused to issue a party permit for Citi Field, the Mets have slogged 2,500 miles back to Southern California in search of their invite to the NLCS. And if they whiff again, it will be the Dodgers celebrating while the Mets contemplate 2016.
“I think you have to love it, you have to embrace that,” said rookie Michael Conforto, whose Mets will send Jacob deGrom to the mound against Zack Greinke in Game 5 of the NLDS at Dodger Stadium.