Five innings at Citi Field Wednesday night and the Mets were trying to thrive on the energy of a sellout crowd of 44,103, though they could not generate a punch that got them to the NLDS in their series with the Phillies, as they were 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position. Then the magic was restored with a Francisco Lindor grand slam home run in the sixth inning.
A memorable home run that put the Mets in front 4-1, enabled them to take the series three games to one in the best-of five. The Mets never looked back and were the better team that advanced to the NLCS, returning there for the first time since 2015.
Bryce Harper said, “That’s a really good team over there, they played well this series, they pitched well, hit the crap out of the baseball, timely hitting, everything you want to do as a playoff team.”
That was moments after the Phillies were eliminated from moving on in October. Nick Castellanos said the Mets were not the better team this season but credited them for outplaying the Phillies, a team that took the NL East division and second best record in the league but failed again in October.
The Mets, though, moved on in October. Improbable at one time, they were a team that looked more like a contender since mid June and best record in baseball. This all occurred after their low point of 11-games under .500 and dealing with much adversity. But they came together and continued to write their story, a magical run now alongside the Detroit Tigers magical run in their attempt to advance to the ALCS with a 2-1 series lead over the Guardians.
The Mets move on during their magical run and advance to the NLCS beginning Sunday evening, best four-of-seven and another west coast trip to either San Diego or Los Angeles. Many believed this was another transitional year and now it has gone beyond expectations.
Four wins away, almost like 2015. What was then another type of magical season with Daniel Murphy hitting home runs, a pitching staff of young studs including “The Dark Knight,” Matt Harvey, and a veteran manager Terry Collins.
But this transitional year has Francisco Lindor, an MVP of the Mets, despite the likelihood that he will come up short for NL MVP because there is a player named Shohei Ohtani with the Dodgers. Lindor and Ohtani could meet in the NLCS. He could be opposing a Padres team with MVP numbers surrounding Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr.
Doesn’t matter to Lindor and the Mets. They believe this magical run will continue, a team of destiny that wasn’t supposed to be here. Last of the NL Wild Card entrants in the postseason, a headline and fan base that never saw this coming in May, then a team with many questions.
But when Lindor hit that grand slam, second career postseason grand slam home run (his first against the Yankees’ Chad Green in game 2 of the 2017 ALDS), fans were electric. Citi Field was loud but did not shake up to the rafters as it was in 1969 or 1986 at Shea Stadium, two World Series championship seasons in Mets’ franchise history.
Lindor was the difference, he has been for the Mets with an MVP season. A leader who called a team meeting in May that could be a part of the resurgence. But that Carlos Estevez fastball in the sixth inning, fourth pitch to right-center field, the most significant home run of his career and 16-year history of Citi Field.
A memorable Mets moment that will live in franchise history and regardless where the Mets go from here, a home run that will be talked about in years to come. Perhaps this home run is more memorable than the Pete Alonso go-ahead, three-run opposite field gamer in the ninth inning of NL Wild Card Series Game 3 that eliminated the Brewers.
A swing that will be memorable in Mets history. A swing that Lindor has been accustomed to doing. Since being put in the leadoff position, he’s been a catalyst to the Mets lineup.
“I want to win it all and ours will be a team that will forever be remembered,” Lindor said. “This will be a team that comes every 10 years and eats for free everywhere they go, and I want to do that. I want to do that. But the job is not done.”
He said, “The crowd was amazing today and yesterday. They have been amazing. To do it in front of them was very special. But to move on is special. To do it at home, it’s cool because you get to celebrate not only with your family but also with the fans.”
The job is not done because the mission is to win a World Series, but the Mets are a team playing deep in October. They are winning as a team, Lindor and others all a part of this run. He can eat anywhere he goes, one of the top five contracts in baseball, with popularity and invites from Mets fans welcoming him to their home for dinner.
That home run will probably solidify his status as the best shortstop in Mets franchise history, though that was moving forward since signing a longtime $341 million contract.
Owner Steve Cohen had a five year plan when his billionaire empire purchased the Mets in September of 2020, and said he was looking for a World Series title. The Mets have struggled since Cohen spent money. The best investment has been Lindor signing that contract.
MVP chants continued for Lindor since the team began their resurgence to contender and not pretenders. A transitional year and that home run puts the Mets closer to their belief of winning a World Series. A fascinating development that was not realistic when it was all gloom and doom in May.
Pete Alonso said the home run was “the swing of a lifetime.” His manager Carlos Mendoza, who always said this team had resilience and were better than that record in May, said about Lindor, “I keep saying you could write a book. You could make a movie.”
They are capable of reaching the World Series. New chapters in Mets franchise history with many contributing in this run, standing now as one playing deep in October.
Mendoza afterwards said, “This is not it. We’ve got to continue to ride the wave. We were one swing away, and today our MVP came through again. From the beginning nobody had us doing anything this year, it was supposed to be a transition year, and we kept believing and we knew we had really good players.”
Players like Lindor and Alonso, who struggled but revived in the postseason, Brandon Nimmo, and David Stearns (Director of Baseball Operations) picking up the right pieces including Jose Iglesias, a journeyman of sorts who had a resurgence after spending numerous amounts of time in the minor leagues.
“Of course it was a team moment,” Stearns said. “I don’t know that there’s another player in baseball you’d want at the plate right now in that situation,” he said about Lindor.
And five innings before the home run Jose Quintana held the Phillies to two hits and an unearned run. The bullpen additions that Stearns acquired kept it close, the other investment, Edwin Diaz who was here before Stearns took over, closed the Phillies season.
And Lindor with that swing of a lifetime, a perfect investment in the five-year plan of the owner to win a World Series, celebrating with his team as the bubbly flowed for a third time with two more, hopefully on tap.
“Of course, why not in that situation he just comes through over and over again,” said Cohen about Lindor. “I want to sway the negative Mets fans perceptions, and we are on the way of doing that so let’s keep this going.”
The Mets have momentum, another NL Wild Card team resembling the Washington Nationals team that won it all in 2019, then with Juan Soto. But this team always believed they would be here. And how realistic is this? Going beyond expectations to a point.
But the Mets have Francisco Lindor and he can change the complexion of a game at any time. He can electrify a crowd. He has become the smart investment for his owner to play deep in October and win a World Series.
Rich Mancuso X (Twitter) Ring786 http://Facebook.com/RichMancuso