Francisco Lindor Grand Slam Sends Mets To NLCS And Phillies Back Home
The magical run for the 2024 New York Mets continues, and who else would deliver the decisive hit but superstar shortstop Francisco Lindor?
Just one year after the Mets missed the playoffs entirely after committing roughly $500 million to free agents, they're in the National League Championship Series. In a decisive game four at Citi Field, it initially seemed like the Mets were set to waste every potential opportunity. New York had the bases loaded and one out in the first inning, only for Jose Iglesias and JD Martinez to strike out.
They had first and second and no outs in the second, loaded the bases with two outs, and once again failed to score. Martinez hit into a double play in the third to wipe out a rally. Then the Phillies got on the board in the bottom of the fourth thanks to an error by third baseman Mark Vientos. Sure enough, the Mets wasted another leadoff double in the fifth.
But in the bottom of the sixth inning, everything changed. A single, hit by pitch and a walk set the table for Lindor, and he delivered in the biggest possible way.
NEW YORK - New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) celebrates with teammates in the dugout after hitting a grand slam against the Philadelphia Phillies in the sixth inning in game four of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Citi Field on Oct. 9, 2024. Photo: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Mets Magical Run Continues Into NLCS
Lindor's massive homer held up, despite a ninth inning rally from the Phillies. Edwin Diaz walked the first two hitters, before getting a strike out and fly ball. And in a year in which his velocity has been down dramatically, he showed that he can still dial it up when he needs to.
With a 1-2 count on the always terrifying Kyle Schwarber, Diaz dialed it up 101mph for the game and series-ending punchout.
What a game. What a run for the Mets.
It's easy to forget now that the Mets were down to their last out of the season, their last two strikes of the season, to Devin Williams and the Milwaukee Brewers in the wild card series. And Pete Alonso delivered one of the more unlikely home runs in postseason history to advance to the NLDS.
They entered the series with Philadelphia as significant underdogs, thanks to the Phillies' starting pitching advantage and fearsome lineup. And they won in four games, starting Sean Manaea, Jose Quintana, Kodai Senga after a massive layoff, and Luis Severino.
As always, with postseason baseball, the most talented team, the best teams don't always win. In fact, they don't even necessarily win half the time. The team that has fortunate timing, that gets the best results with runners in scoring position, that makes the fewest mistakes – that's the team that advances. In this series, and this postseason, that's been the New York Mets.