LOS ANGELES — Sean Manaea is a different pitcher than the one the Los Angeles Dodgers saw at Chavez Ravine back in April, and a much different pitcher than the one the team has hit .295 against in 11 previous games. The left-hander throws a sinker now, he dropped his arm slot and added more rise on his fastball and hitters are topping the ball more often and pulling it less. Though his playoff career hasn’t exactly been illustrious, he’s writing a whole new playoff chapter with the Mets, having allowed only three earned runs on nine hits over 12 postseason innings (two starts, 2.25 ERA). He’s hoping to add to the new chapter in Game 2 of the NLCS on Monday afternoon, when he takes the ball in Game 2 against the Dodgers. “Obviously I’ve dropped down, and mechanical stuff is different,” Manaea said Sunday at Dodger Stadium. “Pitches are pretty much the same. Overall just a little more confident in myself, in my stuff.” Manaea has always had confidence in his stuff and his ability to use it, but there were years when his pitches weren’t always sharp and he didn’t execute it with consistency. He has long credited Driveline Baseball for helping him add velocity to his fastball, but his interest in data and technology was influenced by his time training there as well. The data looked good after he dropped his arm slot earlier this season, and so did the traditional stats. Over eight starts from Aug. 16-Sept. 21, Manaea posted a 2.95 ERA, held hitters to just a .144 average and mostly threw strikes. It reinforced that confidence. “You kind of have to go out there and prove it too, for yourself and everybody else,” Manaea said. “You can only be that way for a little bit. You actually have to go do the things. And slowly but surely I feel I’ve been doing that. Feel like I’m in a good spot right now.” Manaea has said that he is “constantly tinkering” in the bullpen, working on new grips, arm angles and even where he’s throwing the ball, throwing to the opposite plate in the bullpen before starts. However, that has largely stopped this month. While he’s maintaining as much of a routine as he can in the postseason, he has largely stopped throwing full bullpen sessions to save his arm for the playoffs. “I feel good and as long as I’m feeling good and healthy, and just in a place where I feel like I can throw my pitches for strikes, I don’t think I really need to do much else,” he said. “Obviously the hitters are going to tell me where I’m at. I feel like I’ve had some good success so far.” BULLPENNING The Dodgers will throw a bullpen game Monday afternoon in Game 2 and save Walker Buehler for Game 3 in New York. With a large lead early in Game 1, the Dodgers were able to stay away from their high-leverage relievers, leaving them available to cover 27 outs in Game 2. With 10 pitchers down for Los Angeles, manager Dave Roberts has a tougher job than usual. “That is a possibility. I think for us, honestly, we’re trying to figure out the best way to win tonight,” Roberts said. “I do feel after tonight it will open things up as far as Game 2 and Game 3. If tonight ends up being an exhaustive bullpen game that could change things. If it goes the way we expect, then maybe your thought comes to pass. “We’ll see.” OTTAVINO OUT FOR NLCS The Mets opted to carry one fewer pitcher for this round in order to get Jeff McNeil on the roster. Veteran right-hander Adam Ottavino was left off the roster. This wasn’t a surprise considering how much Ottavino struggled this season. Though he was on both the Wild Card and NLDS rosters, he didn’t get into a game. Informing him was a tough conversation for manager Carlos Mendoza to have with a popular leader. “He’s such a professional,” Mendoza said. “He understood. He brings a lot to this team, not only on the field, but off the field [with] his presence, his leadership, and not only in the bullpen, but for the whole pitching staff and for some of the position players.” Should there be an injury, Ottavino would be the likely replacement on the roster.