NEW YORK (AP) — Francisco Lindor hit a grand slam in the sixth inning, his latest clutch swing in an extraordinary season full of them, and the New York Mets reached the National League Championship Series with a 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday.
Edwin Díaz struck out Kyle Schwarber with two runners aboard to end it as New York finished off the rival Phillies in Game 4 of their best-of-five Division Series, winning 3-1 to wrap up a post-season series at home for the first time in 24 years.
Immediately afterward in a raucous locker room, the Mets had their first champagne-soaked clinching celebration in Citi Field's 16-season history.
“This is the kind of stuff that I was dreaming about,” outfielder Brandon Nimmo said in a clubhouse interview shown on the giant videoboard in centre. “This has been a long time coming. We wanted it so bad for our fan base.”
After three days of rest, New York will open the best-of-seven NLCS on Sunday at the San Diego Padres or Los Angeles Dodgers. San Diego held a 2-1 lead in their NLDS heading into Game 4 on Wednesday night.
“Let's keep this thing rolling!” Mets slugger Pete Alonso told revelling fans still in the stands when he popped out of the clubhouse party for an on-field interview with his large goggles protecting his eyes. “So proud of this group. We've overcome so much.”
For the NL East champion Phillies, who won 95 games and finished six ahead of the wild-card Mets during the regular season, it was a bitter exit early in the playoffs and a disappointing step backward after they advanced to the 2022 World Series and then lost Games 6 and 7 of the 2023 NLCS at home to Arizona.
After falling short again in October, Bryce Harper and the Phillies are still looking for the franchise's third championship.
“We have a really great group. We got beat in a short series,” manager Rob Thomson said.
Perhaps over-anxious at the plate with so much on the table, the Mets left the bases loaded in the first and second against starter Ranger Suárez and stranded eight runners overall through the first five innings.
They put three runners on again in the sixth, this time with nobody out, before No. 9 batter Francisco Alvarez grounded into a force at the plate against All-Star reliever Jeff Hoffman.
With the season on the line, Thomson then summoned closer Carlos Estévez to face Lindor, who drove a 2-1 fastball clocked at 99 m.p.h. into Philadelphia’s bullpen in right-centre, giving New York a 4-1 lead and sending the sold-out crowd of 44,103 into a delirious, bouncing, throbbing frenzy.
With his first homer of these playoffs, Lindor joined Shane Victorino and Hall of Fame slugger Jim Thome as the only major leaguers with two post-season grand slams. The star shortstop also connected for Cleveland at Yankee Stadium in Game 2 of a 2017 AL Division Series.
Edgardo Alfonzo hit the only other post-season slam in Mets history, during a 1999 Division Series at Arizona.
Fans chanted “MVP! MVP!” as Lindor disappeared into the dugout and again when he took his position on defence in the seventh.
Game 3 on Tuesday was Lindor’s first opportunity to play at Citi Field since Sept. 8, after he missed time down the stretch with a back injury.
But few players, if any, have been as valuable to their team this year as Lindor, who has provided a remarkable string of big hits and crucial contributions as the Mets rallied from a 24-35 start to their first NLCS since losing the 2015 World Series to Kansas City.
His tying homer in the ninth inning Sept. 11 at Toronto broke up Bowden Francis’ no-hit bid and sparked a critical Mets victory, and his go-ahead homer in the ninth on Sept. 30 in Atlanta clinched a post-season berth.
Lindor also fought back from a 1-2 count to draw an eight-pitch walk leading off the ninth against all-star closer Devin Williams last week in Milwaukee, helping to set up Alonso’s go-ahead homer that saved New York’s season in the Wild Card Series clincher.
Mets starter Jose Quintana didn’t allow an earned run in five-plus innings of two-hit ball, and David Peterson pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings for the win.
Díaz walked his first two batters in the ninth, prompting groans in the stands, but retired the next three — two on strikeouts – for the first post-season save of his career.
Shut down at the plate all series besides a late comeback to win Game 2 at home, the Phillies scored their only run on an error by third baseman Mark Vientos in the fourth.
Hoffman took his second loss, the latest flop by a Philadelphia bullpen that failed to deliver throughout the series.
“Some of it’s execution, maybe some of it’s being familiar with our guys,” Thomson said. “I don’t know. It should work both ways, though.”
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
Mike Fitzpatrick, The Associated Press
