QUEENS, NY — The narrative of Francisco Lindor’s early-season struggles was officially put to bed on Monday night at Citi Field when the New York Mets’ star shortstop hammered a pair of home runs and drove in four RBI in his side’s 5-4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
With three home runs in his last two games, which included lead-off home runs to start each affair, Lindor is on a 14-game heater that sees him batting .338 with five home runs and 10 RBI.
“I’m just focused on the process,” Lindor said. “The hitting coaches are preparing me. They’re helping me prepare, and then you have guys like Soto, Pete, Nimmo. The whole entire lineup… the hitting is contagious… Everyone is kind of passing the baton.”
Jesse Winker provided a lead-off home run of his own in the second inning against Phillies starter Aaron Nola, while Mets starter Tylor Megill tied a career-high with 10 strikeouts during 5.1 scoreless innings in which he allowed just a single hit.
“He knows his stuff is good,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said of Megill. “Especially when he’s in the strike zone. We saw that today. Every time he was in the strike zone, he got swings and misses, especially with the fastball today.”
But New York’s usually-resolute bullpen nearly imploded in the ninth inning. Max Kranick gave up three straight hits to start the frame to make it a 5-1 game before closer Edwin Diaz allowed a three-run home run to Bryson Stott to pull the Phillies within one with just one out.
“We were asking a lot out of him there,” Mendoza said of Kranick. “Even though he was only at 20 pitches, asking him that third up, we were up five and trying to finish the game with him knowing that he could give you 15 more pitches. He threw strikes… I think he probably just got a little tired.”
Diaz rebounded to strike out Trea Turner and Bryce Harper to clinch the Mets’ (16-7) fifth straight win.
Lindor took Nola’s fifth pitch of the game — a 77 mph knuckle-curve that stayed in the bottom corner of the zone — 376 feet off the facade of the second deck in right field.
It was the second lead-off home run in as many days and his fourth round-tripper of the season, three of which were of the lead-off variety. He joined Kaz Matsui in 2004 and Curtis Granderson in 2017 as the only Mets to hit lead-off home runs in back-to-back games.
Winker then took a 2-0 fastball that sat middle-middle from Nola and launched it 405 feet into the bullpens in right-center field for his first home run of the season.
Soto came inches from his first Citi Field home run, making it a five-run game with no outs in the third inning when he pulled one into the second deck in right field with two men on. It sailed just wide of the foul pole — a call that was reversed after first-base umpire Nate Tomlinson initially called it fair.
Nola temporarily stabilized, getting the next three outs and then posting three more scoreless frames. He recorded one out in the seventh before a single by Luisangel Acuna and a walk to Brett Baty ended his night.
Against reliever Jose Ruiz, Tyrone Taylor beat out a double play to extend the frame for Lindor. Monday night’s hero jumped on an 0-1 four-seamer right down the middle of the plate and sent it 412 feet over the center-field fence to break the game open.
“He’s not missing pitches,” Mendoza said. “He’s laying off some tough ones… He’s hitting them with authority… He’s locked in right now.”
Nola, who dropped to 0-5 with the loss, was responsible for four of the Mets’ runs scored — the ace’s season ERA sitting at an alarming 6.43.
Megill was lights out for the majority of his night. He struck out the side in the second inning and punched out three more in the fifth to tie his career-high with 10, which was set on Sept. 10, 2021, against the Yankees.
Outside of the third inning, where he escaped from a bases-loaded, two-out jam, no other Phillies advanced to second base while he was on the hill. He departed with one out in the sixth inning at 92 pitches with Bryce Harper on first following a lead-off walk.
Reliever Reed Garrett allowed a two-out single to Max Kepler to put runners on the corners, but kept Philadelphia off the board by striking out JT Realmuto.
