As good as this Dodgers lineup is, this six-point deficit will be difficult to overcome for two reasons. First, Mets starter Sean Manaea is looking very sharp so far, with Shohei Ohtani in particular looking uncharacteristically baffled by Manaea’s unusual arm angle, as seen in his two rather uncompetitive strikeouts in his first two at-bats.

In addition to trying to solve Manaea at home, it could be a challenge for this lower tier of Dodgers relievers to keep the Mets from adding the rest of the way to further grow the six-point lead.

The biggest question now isn’t necessarily whether the Dodgers can come back, but how long Manaea can last. If he can complete another seven frames like he did last round against Philadelphia, and limit the number of looks the LA bats get from the Mets’ top relievers, that could be beneficial for New York later in the series – maybe in a A higher leverage spot that we have yet to see during these first two games.