It wasn't a baseball game, it was a hard hit.
On Monday and in broad daylight, the New York Mets snuck up on the Dodgers, knocked them to the ground, wiped the confidence off their faces, and sent them to Queens.
After two games, the National League Championship Series had been transformed into something few thought it would ever be, something that should make Dodger fans tie those blue rags around their numb fingers.
This series is now, well, a series.
The Mets created one by storming out of the dugout with bats flying and guns boiling, suddenly smashing the vaunted Dodgers' bat, destroying the Dodgers' powerful bats, overcoming their own fielding errors, generally causing chaos in Chavez's overheated gully, and stealing away a 7-3 victory in Game 2 was tied the NLCS at one game apiece.
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It was a stunning reversal of fortune for a Dodger team that played as if it had nonrefundable reservations for the World Series.
For God's sake, less than 24 hours after it looked like they were going to play in November, it's possible their season won't last a week.
The Dodgers started the afternoon having defeated their previous three playoff opponents by a score of 19-0.
They were leading 6-0 before the game was two innings long.
The Dodgers entered the afternoon with their pitching staff riding a postseason streak of a league-record 33 consecutive scoreless innings.
This record lasted all of four minutes.
At some point, there were dreams of an autumn classic with the New York Yankees. The next moment, New York's sophomore Francisco Lindor went deep on his eighth pitch of the game.
At some point, ideas for a parade emerged. The next moment, four Mets were marching around the bases after Mark Vientos' second-inning grand slam.
In an instant, the quartet of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernández and Freddie Freeman could conquer everything. The next minute they were hitless in 15 at-bats with eight strikeouts, and late in the game two runners were stranded on base after consecutive hits by Betts, Hernández and Freeman.
Particularly striking is the declining performance of Ohtani, who hasn't recorded an extra-base hit in six games and seems unnerved by his opponent's general refusal to give him anything in the strike zone. Does Superman finally get tired? He'll have at least three games to find out.
And now the seven-game series moves to Citi Field, with only Walker Buehler and his 5.38 regular-season ERA standing between the Dodgers and somewhere behind the eighth. Incidentally, Buehler was last seen destroying the dugout after six runs in Game 3 against the San Diego Padres.
The Dodgers could effectively be eliminated from the season at Citi Field if they lose all three games there, but that seems unlikely since the top two starters will be working in Games 4 and 5 and two players are coming off excellent playoff performances, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Jack Flaherty.
But you never know. After Monday, no one involved with the show can claim to know anything about anything.
Remember how everyone thought the Dodgers' decision to use the bullpen instead of starting Buehler was smart, considering eight Dodgers pitchers shut out the San Diego Padres 8-0 in last week's bullpen?
Evil. Changing the game is bad.
In fact, it might have been a wise decision if manager Dave Roberts had stuck to using the field exclusively.
The game started with Lindor winning an eight-pitch battle with reliever Ryan Brasier and sending his 90-mph cutter high over the left-field corner for a quick run.
Things were still relatively calm when Roberts curiously replaced Brasier with rookie Landon Knack a minute later. This was strange because even though it was a game for bulls, Knack doesn't usually practice away from home. He's not one of the Dodgers' half-dozen star relievers. He is an early starter.
Knack looked like a rookie when he started the second inning, giving up a single, a walk and then an RBI double to a light hit by Tyrone Taylor. One inch later, after an intentional walk to Lindor and the bases loaded, Vientos hit a big shot against the center field wall.
“I think today was different that we didn't have (Alex) Vesia. (Daniel) Hudson was down … and that's probably the biggest boost to having – or knowing that you're going to have to put up with some outs from Knack or you're just not going to finish the game,” Roberts said.
Have you had to quit a newbie in relief because you don't think you have enough hands to finish the game? What about true midfielders like Blake Treinen, Evan Phillips and Michael Kopech? In a bullpen game that's already one run down, shouldn't the Dodgers give it their all right away?
“You're talking about the second round here,” Roberts said, still defending Knack's decision. “So you have a guy on the mound who has to eat up innings.”
What about someone who can devour victory?
The 6-0 lead upset the Dodgers, weakened the crowd, and even the Dodgers' signature rally failed.
In the sixth set he led 6:1. Betts led off with a walk and Hernández followed him before heading to the Dodger dugout and clapping loudly as the fans were on their feet. A limping Freeman took off and apparently started a double play, but second baseman Jose Iglesias dropped the bouncer and all three runners were safe and none were out.
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One out later, Tommy Edman hit a groundout that bounced under the glove of diving first baseman Pete Alonso to score two runs. Muncy then went to load the bases for Señor October, Kiké Hernández. But this time without heroism. He hit a grounder that Vientos jumped at third base, but it still turned into a double play ending close to the inning.
For all their faults, the Mets' comeback culture must be appreciated. They started the season 0-5. At one point they were 11 games under .500. Their postseason ended at a different point with the final two outs. They won in Atlanta on the last day of the regular season to sneak into the playoffs, then upset the Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies to stay there.
They've been here before.
But so is the Dodgers, who previously needed two straight wins to outlast the San Diego Padres, including one in San Diego.
Officially, both teams are going to New York on equal terms.
But the Dodgers were clearly, surprisingly surprised, a reality check after a long afternoon and one nasty sucker punch.
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
