Euphoria, anxiety, heartbreak Mets NLCS history has it all

The Mets’ trip to the National League Championship Series, which will begin Sunday night in California, is the ninth time the team has made it this far in a season.Not surprisingly, like so much about the Mets in times of prosperity, those NLCS trips have produced loop after loop of unique snapshots, some good, some not so much.In honor of Dwight Gooden, who had his number retired earlier this season, here’s a look at 16 especially memorable moments from those eight prior trips.The Mets won a couple of slugfests in Atlanta to take a 2-0 series lead in what was then a best-of-five, but the Braves come out slugging against Gary Gentry in the first postseason game in Queens.

Hank Aaron hits a blast off the flag pole in dead center for a 2-0 lead in the second, and in the third, with none out and men on second and third, Rico Carty rips an 0-and-2 pitch about 450 feet that barely hooks left of the foul pole.Gil Hodges yanks Gentry right there, summons Nolan Ryan, and in the first star turn of his career, Ryan promptly fans Carty, fans Clete Boyer, finishes the game with nine strikeouts in seven innings, and the Mets win their first pennant, 7-4.Tom Seaver has what may have been a top-five career outing for him, striking out 13 of the Big Red Machine and keeping the Cincinnati crowd quiet for 7 ¹/₃ innings — and he even drives in the Mets’ lone run with a second-inning double.But Pete Rose homers with one out in the eighth and Johnny Bench does the same with one out in the ninth, and all he gets is a hard-luck 2-1 loss for his troubles.As happens often in those pitching-rich days, Jon Matlack sees Seaver’s gem and raises him, allowing only two singles to Reds right fielder Andy Kosco.

Matlack is also asked to protect a skinny 1-0 lead until the Mets rally for four in the ninth.The Mets gash the Reds for nine runs in the first four innings, but the game becomes an instant classic in the bottom of the fifth when Joe Morgan rolls into a 3-6-3 double play and ...