Mets are one win away from Sean Manaea's Phillies mastery of the NLCS

Orange rally towels — the same shade as Pete Alonso's playoff pumpkins — floated across Citi Field on Tuesday when Shawn Mania left the mound in the eighth inning.

The left-hander blew a kiss to the sky (directed at his aunt Mabel, whom he learned had died earlier in the day) and disappeared into the first-base dugout.

The Mets were riding high in large part because of Mania, and recognition from the sellout crowd of 44,093 was assured after one of his best performances with the team and certainly on the biggest stage.

Manaaya held off the Phillies with one run in seven innings, leading the Mets to a 7-2 win in Game 3 of the NLDS.

A win separates the Mets from the National League Championship Series, and there are two roads to get there.

Beat the Phillies in Game 4 on Wednesday for an easy road trip and enjoy the downtime before heading to the West Coast to face the Padres or Dodgers.

The tough road means losing on Wednesday and having to win a Game 5 in Philadelphia.

The Mets have never won a postseason berth or a series win in Citi Field's 16 seasons of existence.

“We want to be able to go out there and celebrate and win,” Starling Marte said.

Manaya allowed just three hits and struck out six with two walks and two hit batters in seven-plus innings and 91 pitches.

It was the best outing by a Mets starting pitcher this postseason and eased the pressure on a bullpen that had been bleeding in a Game 2 loss on Sunday.

“I haven't had the most amazing career,” Manaea said. “But through the ups and downs and through the hardships, that's what makes games like this so meaningful. That's part of the job I've been able to do, not just myself, but the whole team.”

Manager Carlos Mendoza allowed Manaya to return to the eighth mound after seven shutout innings.

But after Edmundo Sosa led off the inning with an infield single, Manaya was removed.

Phil Matton and Ryne Stanek combined for three outs and two runs in the inning.

Alonso homered from second to score the first run of the game.

Alonso's blast was his sixth in 51 career at-bats against Aaron Nola, the most by any pitcher and his third in four games that began with the go-ahead shot in Milwaukee on Thursday that helped the Mets clinch the NL Wild Card series.

Jesse Winker's homer put the Mets up 2-0 with two outs in the fourth. In his previous at-bat, Winker missed clearing the right-field fence, with Nick Castellanos running toward the wall for the catch.

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But in the fourth, Winker left no doubt after jumping on a 2-1 fastball.

The Phillies threatened against Mania in the third: Sosa was plunked and Trey Turner delivered a two-out single.

But Manaya escaped the threat by rebounding Bryce Harper.

Manaya got a defensive assist in the fourth, when Tyrone Taylor threw to Alec Boehm to try to stretch a single into a double.

Mania celebrated as he left the mound in the sixth, after Castellanos' line drive turned into an inning-ending double play to Jose Iglesias.

Manaya walked Kyle Schwarber and Turner to start consecutive innings, but struck out Harper before Schwarber made the second catch on a liner by Castellanos.

Mendoza said he considered removing Mania after two walks.

“But then he got Harper in there, I thought he got his momentum back.” Mendoza said. “I've always liked his presence and especially today, his demeanor on the mound. He was always on the attack from the first pitch.

Marte stroked a two-run single in the sixth that made it 4-0.

Mark Vientos led off the inning with a single and Brandon Nimmo and Alonso followed with consecutive walks to load the bases, ending Nola's outing.

Orion Kerkering entered and got two outs with no runs, but Marte delivered.

Mania responded by retiring the team in order in the seventh with a strikeout of Austin Hayes to end the inning.

“He believed in his stuff,” Mendoza said. “He believed in the game plan and didn't back down from it.”

Iglesias gave the Mets a cushion with a two-run single in the bottom of the inning that extended the lead to 6-0.

Vientos singled in the inning and Nimmo and Alonso each walked to load the bases.

“Good things happen when you put the ball in play and it shows up there for Mart, it shows up there for me,” Iglesias said. “The whole team did a great job competing in that innings. It was pretty special.”