The tension was starting to build. The Mets had their chances. More chances than most teams have ever had in a situation like this with a playoff series on the line, but for much of the game, they seemed to get tight in the big at-bats.
Then their MVP stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth inning, and just as he has on countless occasions over the last couple of months, Francisco Lindor changed the course of the game and the Mets’ season with just one swing.
“It was hard for us,” said Mets manager Carlos Mendoza. “Today is a perfect example. Got runners on and we couldn’t come up with a big hit until finally, and who else, MVP, you know.”
The shortstop got a 2-1 fastball from Carlos Estévez and clobbered it 398 feet to center field to put the Mets in front 4-1.
“I was just trying to get a good pitch in the zone,” explained Lindor after the game. “I felt like I got one earlier, and I missed it. I was trying to do with the boys did, which is get on base. That home run never happens if it’s not for the guys in front of me.”
“There’s no panic,” explained Mendoza when asked why Lindor always seems to shine in these moments. “The way he controls the emotions, and he hits that ball and... it’s unbelievable.”
Yet, even the unbelievable has become believable with that Mets team. They were counted out before the season started, counted out when they were 11 games under .500 in the middle of the summer, and counted out when they blew an early lead to the Phillies in Game 2 that allowed Philadelphia to tie the series at one game apiece.
“From the beginning, nobody had us doing anything this year,” Mendoza said. “This was supposed to be a transition year, and we kept believing.”
That belief was put to the test on Tuesday as the Mets repeatedly let the Phillies off the hook early in the game.
They loaded the bases with one out in the first inning before Ranger Suárez struck out Jose Iglesias and J.D. Martinez to end the inning. They loaded the bases with two outs in the second inning, but Brandon Nimmo grounded out to first. Then, they put runners on first and second with nobody out in the fifth inning but Suárez struck out Nimmo and then Jeff Hoffman retired both Pete Alonso and Iglesias to get out of the jam.
Suárez finished with 4 1/3 scoreless innings while allowing five hits and walking four batters. He is one of three pitchers in MLB history to allow nine or more baserunners in fewer than five innings and NOT allow a run in a postseason game, and, according to Sarah Langs, Suárez’s 21 batters faced are tied for the most in a scoreless postseason outing of fewer than five innings.
However, the eight strikeouts were also a postseason career-high for Suárez, and, for much of the game, that was the story for the Mets offense. On the day, the Mets struck out 12 times and were just 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position with two of those hits being infield singles with runners on second base. The other was Lindor’s blast.
The Mets were only in position to take the lead on Lindor’s hit because of the effort they got from Jose Quintana.
The 35-year-old pitched five innings, allowing only one unearned run on two hits while walking two and striking out six. He has now gone five or more innings with no earned runs in three straight postseason starts, which is the second-longest streak since earned runs became official in both leagues in 1913, trailing only Whitey Ford, who had four straight such starts.
“He always finds a way to get the job done,” said Mendoza of his veteran starter. “We felt really good going into this game because of who he is, how much he prepares and how much he cares. He went out there and did it and gave us a chance.”
After Quintana allowed a lead-off double to Bryce Harper to start the sixth, Mendoza turned to Reed Garrett for two big outs and then went to David Peterson, who gave the Mets 2.1 shutout innings to preserve the 4-1 lead for Edwin Díaz in the ninth inning.
In true Mets fashion, the ninth inning wasn’t without its drama.
Díaz walked the first two batters he faced on 10 total pitches, bringing pinch hitter Kody Clemens to the plate as the tying run. Despite falling behind in the count, Díaz battled back to strike out Clemens and then got Brandon Marsh to fly out and Kyle Schwarber to strike out to earn his first save of the postseason and send the Mets to their first NLCS since 2015 when they eventually lost to the Kansas City Royals in the World Series.
Yet, even with that drama, the Mets bullpen came through, which was not the case for the Phillies’ relievers. During the four-game series, the Phillies bullpen posted an 11.37 ERA and threw three wild pitches tonight alone. Their offense limped to a .186/.295/.302 slash line against the Mets. Even with the misstep in Game 2, this was a series the Mets controlled and one they refused to let slip through their fingers on Wednesday night, clinching a playoff series at Citi Field for the first time in the stadium’s history.
“We’re doing it here, at home, in front of our fanbase,” explained Mendoza when asked why this celebration felt more special than the ones that preceded it this season. “They deserve this, man.”
While the Mets offense did strike out too much on Wednesday night, they also racked up eight hits to just four for Philadelphia. Lindor finished the day 2-for-5 with four RBI on his Grand Slam. Pete Alonso went 2-for-3 with a walk and Mark Vientos continued his torrid postseason by going 2-for-4 with a walk to improve his slash line to .429/.467/.714. In the NLDS alone, Vientos went 9-for-16 with two doubles two home runs, and five RBI. His nine hits are a Mets record for a Division Series and are the highlight of a coming-out party for the young third baseman.
Despite all that this team has overcome, and the tears of joy that were shared on the field on Wednesday night, they know the job isn’t over.
“I want to win it all,” said Lindor. “I want this to be a team that will be forever remembered. To be a team that comes back every 10 years and that eats for free wherever they go. I want to do that. The job is not done.”
The Mets will now await the winner of the Padres and Dodgers, who are tied at 2-2 in their NLDS series. The Dodgers won 8-0 on Wednesday night.
Game 1 of the NLCS will take place on Sunday night.
