Its one thing to be loud. And it was loud Tuesday afternoon at Citi Field, 44,093 of the truest of the true believers jammed into every nook and squeezed into every cranny. It felt like half the city called it a day after lunch and sprinted to the block party in the parking lot, something of a welcome-home happy hour after 16 days on the road. They were well-fueled. They were well-oiled. The Phillies heard them, you bet. More important, so did the Mets, who seemed to feed off the energy, who played 2 hours and 55 minutes of the crispest, sharpest baseball you could order up in , taking a 2-1 lead in this best-of-five National League Division Series, nudging themselves to within one step of an opportunity to play for the pennant. The Mets celebrate their Game 3 NLDS win on Tuesday. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post What a privilege, what an honor, to have that support from the fan base, said Mets manager Carlos Mendoza. Today was a perfect example of whats po sible when everyones in it together. Amazing. Fantastic. Lets do it again [Wednesday]. If they do that, they can avoid a return trip to Philadelphia and simply get ready to get back on the road again, off to California for the weekend, either to Los Angeles or San Diego. If Sean Manaea, if , if the lineup can continue to churn This, Je se Winker said, is what you dream of as a kid. Mets outfielder Je se Winker homered into the second deck in right field on Tuesday. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post Explore More The 7 Line Army during the 7th inning stretch. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post Winker was one of the Mets who , which nearly reached full delirium when Florida Gator Pete Alonso Mark Grace Jersey took LSU Tiger Aaron Nola deep the other way in the second, winning the SEC battle and breaking the ice and nearly shattering the sound barrier. Alonso, for all his struggles, is one the Citi faithful have grown used to relying on. Winker is another matter. You want a visceral player? Winker is a visceral player. For years he and the Citi Field crowd engaged in a back-and-forth that ranged somewhere between playful and provoking, with Winker thrilling in the role of provocateur. But even then, you could sense this from Mets fans: Je se Winker was amped up after his Game 3 homer. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post He may be an ahat, but I sure wish he was OUR ahat. I feel like I talk about this a lot, Winker said, half-smiling, but not at all joking. But thats part of the fan experience too, right? Rangers fans still speak with reverence about Sean Avery, a forward who played in 264 games for them and scored all of 78 goals but was beloved because he annoyed the hell out of 98 percent of the NHL. Winker is Avery without the ice skates. Now that hes a Met, Mets fans cant get enough of him. Pete Alonso homered for the second straight game for the Mets. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post Ive always wondered what it would be like, Winker said, after hitting a solo bomb in the fourth halfway up the Coca-Cola porch that doubled the Mets lead to 2-0. New York is a huge market. The team has been so welcoming and the fans are so pa sionate here. Its like a dream come true. Follow The Posts coverage of the Mets playoff run: And for those fans, it was truly a dream afternoon. There was splendid defense Mark Vientos robbing Alec Bohm of one hit, then Bohm getting to sed out at second when Tyrone Taylor fielded his shot off the wall and fired a strike to Francisco Lindor. There were clutch hits abounding: Starling Marte, Jose Iglesias, Lindor. Ryne Stanek closed out NLDS Game 3. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post All of that feeding the starving ma ses in the stands, most of them getting thirsty for the hour-long block party back in the parking lot after the game. Taking the lead early helps, Lindor said. You get on the board and you just play with more confidence and you can feel that all coming from the stands, too. Killer pitching helps, too. And Manaea was next-level terrific. When he walked to the mound at a little after 5 oclock Tuesday, he carried a career playoff ERA of 10.66. The last time hed appeared in the postseason, two years ago as a Padre, hed been bludgeoned by these very same Phillies for four hits and five runs in an inning and a third. This time? Seven-plus innings, 91 pitches, three hits, one run. And in the sixth, after he walked Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner to lead off with the game still a 2-0 gut-cruncher, he promptly struck out Bryce Harper. Mendoza, playing a hunch, left him in to face Nick Castellanos, Sundays hero, and Castellanos lined out to Iglesias who flipped to Lindor to double up Schwarber. A fan holds up a sign for New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post And Manaea threw a wicked and joyful punch, his fist treating the air like Foreman treated Fraziers chin. That was that. And that caused one last waterfall of thunder to cascade out of the grandstand. My first roar of the year, Manaea said with a grin. And just one of many for the Mets, and for the fans, on a note-perfect autumn day. If they have another one of those in them, theyll get to take this story west, and let it last for a few days. Sean Manaea delivered a gem for the Mets. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post We need another day just like this, Alonso said. The fans sure seem up for that. Now its on the Mets to throw the final punch. Matt Peacock Jersey