"You're not seeing Shohei Ohtani look that way too often" - Carlos Mendoza highlighted Dodgers star's struggles against Sean Manaea in NLCS Game 2

The New York Mets bounced back from a shoutout loss in NLCS Game 1 to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-3 in Game 2 to tie the series on Monday. Mets starter Sean Manaea was one of the protagonists for the team.

One of the most impressive aspects of Manaea's start was his control from the mound, something fellow starter Kodai Senga struggled with in Game 1. Manaea's ability to keep Shohei Ohtani quiet in his at-bats caught the eye on Monday.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza highlighted Ohtani's troubles at seeing Manaea's pitches. Mendoza said it was a rare sight as the Japanese slugger has dominated most of the pitchers this season.

Mendoza referred to one of Ohtani's strikeouts from the game to make his point:

"When you see one of the best pitchers in the game take pitches like that and the way he swung for strike three in his second at-bat. I was like, man, he is having a hard time seeing him. I don't think you're seeing Ohtani look that way too often."

The two-time MVP went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in his plate appearances against the Mets starter. Manaea's numbers took a bit of a hit after conceding a home run to Max Muncy in the fifth. He still ended with five solid innings, conceding two runs over two hits with seven strikeouts.

Sean Manaea treated Shohei Ohtani like any other hitter

While pitching to NL MVP favorite Shohei Ohtani would be a daunting task for many, Sean Manaea treated the Japanese starters like any other hitter on the team.

“He’s just one of the guys in the lineup and I was trying to do my job and put up zeroes,” Manaea said after the Mets’ 7-3 victory at Dodger Stadium. “[Ohtani] is very talented and I was just trying to get on to the next guy.”

Sean Manaea did his thing in Game 2 and the responsibility now lies with veteran starter Luis Severino, who will be starting NLCS Game 3 at Citi Field on Wednesday.

Severino will need to be at his best as it's very hard to contain a star-studded Dodgers lineup in two consecutive games but he will have the support of the Queens behind him.