QUEENS, NY — Francisco Lindor had yet another remarkable moment in a season filled to the brim with them and, with it, punched the New York Mets’ ticket to the NLCS.
Trailing 1-0 with one out in the bottom of the sixth inning against Philadelphia Phillies closer Carlos Estevez, Lindor pulled a 99 mph four-seam fastball over the right-center field fence for a grand slam to jolt a tense Citi Field to bedlam and lift the Mets to a 4-1 victory over their NL East rivals in Game 4 of the NLDS and with it, a 3-games-to-1 series victory.
“This ranks pretty high,” Lindor said on how he compares the moment to other career accolades. “This is a home run that sent us to a big place, which is the National League Championship Series. It’s hard to rank them from one to 10, but it’s pretty high for sure.”
It is the first time since Game 5 of the 2000 NLCS that the Mets have won a postseason series at home — the first time ever that Citi Field has experienced a playoff series.
“It’s just amazing because nobody had us anywhere close to this moment,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “For us to be celebrating here at home in front of our fan base, for LIndor to come through that way, what a story. On to the next round.”
After failing to capitalize on numerous opportunities against Phillies starter Ranger Suarez — going 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position over the first five innings — the Mets set the table yet again in the sixth against reliever Jeff Hoffman, who allowed a lead-off single to JD Martinez. He moved to second on a wild pitch before Starling Marte was hit by a pitch.
Both New York runners advanced 90 feet when Hoffman lost control of another one. Tyrone Taylor then drew a walk to load the bases, prompting Phillies manager Rob Thomson to turn to Estevez.
Philadelphia’s closer threw four pitches, all of them fastballs that averaged 100 mph, but he missed his last one that got too much of the plate.
“I was just trying to get a good pitch in the zone. I thought I got a good one early and I missed it. I was trying to do what the boys did, which is get on base. They did an amazing job. I wouldn’t have been able to come up if not for the guys in front of me.”
Mets pitching held a dangerous yet sputtering Phillies lineup in check yet again on Wednesday night. Jose Quintana allowed a single run, not earned, on just two hits in five innings of work with six strikeouts and a pair of walks.
Reed Garrett and David Peterson got the Mets cleanly into the ninth, but closer Edwin Diaz provided some late anxiety. He walked the first two men he faced to bring the tying run to the plate with no outs, but proceeded to retire the next three in order.
The Mets will now meet either the San Diego Padres or Los Angeles Dodgers in the best-of-seven NLCS, which will begin on Sunday on the west coast.
The Mets let two bases-loaded opportunities in the first two innings fall by the wayside. Phillies starter Ranger Suarez struck out Jose Iglesias and Martinez in succession to escape the one-out jam in the first. After allowing an infield single to Mark Vientos to load the bases again in the second with two outs, he got Brandon Nimmo to ground out to first.
The lack of execution expectedly returned to bite the Mets in the fourth. After Quintana faced one over the minimum without allowing a hit in the first three innings, he allowed a one-out walk to Trea Turner and a double to Nick Castellanos.
With two runners in scoring position, the struggling Alec Bohm hit a slow roller to Vientos, who first looked to home but changed course upon realizing he could not get Harper at the plate. He then bobbled and dropped the ball as he moved toward first as the visitors took a one-run lead.
The Mets left two more men on in the fifth inning after Lindor led the frame off with a double, which was followed by a walk to Vientos. Suarez struck out his last batter of the night, Nimmo, for the first out before Hoffman struck out Alonso and got Iglesias to ground out.
Quintana’s night ended by allowing a lead-off double to Bryce Harper in the sixth. Reed Garrett got the first two outs of the inning — two strikeouts sandwiching a walk — before David Peterson coaxed an inning-ending groundout to Bryson Stott to keep the Mets’ deficit at one to set up the game-changing bottom of the frame.
“The whole time I was like, ‘This is who we are,'” Mendoza said. “Thisis part of the story. This is part of the book, the movie, whatever you want to call it. And then when [Lindor] connects that ball, I just wanted him to enjoy.
“It was hard for us to score runs in this game. But Lindor, he’s our MVP.”
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