LOS ANGELES – The New York Mets are down 3-2 against the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series and face two potential elimination games on the road, but they hardly seem fazed.

Been there, done that.

Remember how the Mets swept the road and clinched a playoff spot the Monday before the postseason started? What about the win down to the final out they made in the wild-card round, when Pete Alonso pulled Milwaukee Brewers closer Devin Williams deep in the ninth? The subsequent four-game series in New York, upset by the Philadelphia Phillies, seems anticlimactic in comparison.

And then Friday came Game 5 of this series. The Mets bombarded Dodgers starter Jack Flaherty with eight runs in three innings, keeping their World Series hopes alive after losing Games 3 and 4 at home the previous two nights.

Now comes their toughest test yet. At Dodger Stadium, with its hostile crowd of more than 50,000 fans, the Mets need two wins against the team with the best record in baseball. In other words, the Mets have the Dodgers right where they want them.

“It wouldn’t be our story if it didn’t go this way,” veteran J.D. Martinez said with a smile after the Mets’ 12-6 victory in Game 5. “This is how we do things.”

New York is looking to become the ninth postseason team to win Games 6 and 7 on the road — and recent history is in its favor: Last season, the sixth-seeded Arizona Diamondbacks advanced to the World Series after twice beating the Phillies at Burgerbankpark.

It can be ready. Will it happen is another question. Here are three reasons why Mets players think they can – and will – make it happen.

1. Their starting pitching ‘carried us all year’

For the Mets, Sean Manaea will start Game 6 on full rest, followed by Luis Severino if they make it to Game 7. Both have come up big this postseason, especially Manaea. Meanwhile, the Dodgers have a bullpen game scheduled for Sunday, followed by a weakened Walker Buehler, who has yet to win a game in October, in a possible finale. New York could also use Jose Quintana from the pen in both games.

“You could argue that one of the main reasons we’re here is because of our starting pitching and their ability to go deep in games,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said this week.

But Manaea, Severino and Quintana didn’t look sharp in their starts against the Dodgers this series. Combined, they threw just 13 total innings in Games 2, 3 and 4. It was the first sign of fatigue from them this month.

“We also have to understand where we are in the season and where they are physically,” Mendoza said. “They are now in territory where no one expected.”

On the other hand, Flaherty seemed to hit a wall in his last outing, and Buehler needed 90 pitches to get through four innings in Game 3. Both teams could be dealing with some gassed pitchers.

All things being equal — including workload — the Mets think their starting pitchers have put them in a good position.

“You’ve got to be able to rise to the occasion and do what’s asked of you,” outfielder Brandon Nimmo said. “Those guys did that. Everyone saw how they pitched. There is so much confidence.

“It carried us all year.”

2. Their attitude ‘broke the dam’

It’s hard to argue that any offense can match up with the Dodgers, who scored 30 points in the first four games of this series while adding six more in a Game 5 loss. Even without a healthy Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles has done a lot of damage. But so have the Mets, especially recently.

The Mets view Game 4 as a turning point. They scored only twice in a blowout loss, but had 13 runners reach base. Then in Game 5, they launched a 14-hit attack and scored 12 points.

“We’re able to put games like this together, especially when we click from one through nine and don’t chase,” Mendoza said.

That may be more than just managerial language. First, the bottom of the Mets order is starting to do some damage. Catcher Francisco Alvarez, who has hit the nine holes every match this series, credits a conversation he had with Starling Marte as a confidence booster.

“He came up to me and said, ‘Hey, be happy,’” Alvarez recalled. “‘Play your game. Don’t try to do too much.’ But the real thing about Marte is that he doesn’t talk too much, and I feel like he spoke to me from his heart, and I appreciate him for doing that.”

Alvarez is four for his last five in the series, while Marte has also become popular. Marte, who batted sixth in Game 5, has nine hits in the past four games after going 0-for-4 in Game 1. On Friday, the Mets’ lineup looked as long as the Dodgers’.

“Preventing their starters from going deep into games and reaching their bullpen, that’s huge, especially during this marathon-like run,” Alonso said. “And as an offense, that doesn’t happen if you don’t have good at-bats. We’ll get that now.’

Nimmo said, “We’ve broken the dam.”

3. They Have “Storybook Things”

The “Meme Team,” as some like to call the Mets, don’t mind looking to Grimace or a lucky pumpkin for inspiration. It works for them. Some teams exude a closed attitude when they come to work, while others go with the flow. New York clearly fits into the latter category.

“We’re a goddamn zoo here,” Martinez said. “Would we be the Mets if we weren’t?”

No one embodies that joy – and that belief – more than Alonso. The old Met may be in his final days with the team – he’ll be a free agent after this season – but he’s not letting that distract him. In fact, it has kept him grounded and motivated as he strives to continue this dream season for as long as possible.

“This is what we all live and play for,” Alonso said. “This is so great. And I think we’re all just enjoying the moment and trying to take advantage of opportunities.

“It’s storybook type stuff.”

Alonso arrived in Los Angeles with the team’s Playoff Pumpkin intact, which the slugger seems to talk about more than his game-changing home runs this postseason. It is managed with special care.

“White glove service,” Alonso told ESPN with a big smile. “The pumpkin is taken care of almost as well as the Stanley Cup.”

Alonso keeps the pumpkin in his luggage, but carefully transports it from plane to hotel, from hotel to bus, from bus to clubhouse.

“On the way I took it back to the hotel because I don’t want clubbies or anyone else to tamper with it,” Alonso explained. “It is kept safe every day.”

Pumpkins, mascots and “OMG” signs won’t be in the batter’s box when the first pitch is thrown in Game 6. But for the Mets, these things are part of who they are. Playing this way, with an unwavering spirit, even when the season is almost always on the line, creates a winning atmosphere. Ahead of two win-or-go-home games, New York is counting on it.

“It’s something you learn from being here for a while,” Nimmo said. “You learn not to panic. If one team can do it, so can we. We’ve been playing with our backs against the wall all year. We’ve taken the opportunity. Some might say that in this day and age be at our best.” .”