NEW YORK (AFP) — The New York Mets kept their magical season going, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers, 12-6, on Friday to stay alive in their Major League Baseball playoff series.

Pete Alonso hit a three-run home run in the first inning and the Mets piled up five runs in the third on the way to an 8-1 lead, then held on to cut the deficit to 3-2 in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series.

The Dodgers, who were hoping to close out the series at the Mets’ Citi Field, instead will host Game 6 on Sunday, again with a chance to return to the World Series for the first time since they won it all in 2020.

“We’ll be ready,” Alonso said.

“We love opportunities.”

Andy Pages homered twice for the Dodgers, including a three-run blast that cut New York’s lead to 10-5 in the fifth inning. Mookie Betts’s solo homer in the sixth pulled the Dodgers within four, but the Mets held on.

Starling Marte belted three doubles, driving in three runs on four hits for New York. Francisco Lindor had three hits and Francisco Lindor and Jesse Winker both plated runs with triples for the Mets, who had 14 hits with no strikeouts.

“I think it’s just an incredible effort from the whole group,” Alonso said.

“I mean, it was just an unbelievable execution.”

The winner of the series will take on either the New York Yankees or Cleveland Guardians in the World Series.

The Guardians were aiming to level the best-of-seven American League Championship Series when they hosted game four later Friday.

Cleveland clawed a game back to make it 2-1 with a thrilling come-from-behind triumph on Thursday.

The Yankees are trying to return to the World Series for the first time since winning their record 27th title in 2009.

The Guardians, who last reached the World Series in 2016, haven’t captured the crown since 1948.

The Mets, with their backs against the wall, came out firing.

They seized a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first on Alonso’s towering home run to center field that also scored Lindor and Brandon Nimmo — who had singled and walked.

The Dodgers pulled a run back with two out in the second when Enrique Hernandez raced home on a wild pitch from Mets pitcher David Peterson to Shohei Ohtani.

But the Mets poured it on in the third when Marte made Dodgers starting pitcher Jack Flaherty pay for walking Alonso and Winker to open the frame, belting a double up the left field line that scored both.

Flaherty retired two batters before the Mets put together three straight run-scoring hits: Alvarez’s single, a Lindor triple to the right field corner and a single by Nimmo that made it 8-1.

Peterson surrendered a solo home run to Pages with two outs in the top of the fourth. The Dodgers continued to press, loading the bases before Mets reliever Reed Garrett struck out Freddy Freeman to end the inning.

The Mets pushed their lead to 10-2 with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth and the Dodgers just couldn’t close the gap.

“We showed up today,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said.

“Obviously, Pete setting the tone in the first inning was important. We just continued to add on.”

“And we needed to continue to add on because we saw it. They’re not going to shut down. They’re going to continue to put pressure on you.”