A grand slam by Francisco Lindor in the sixth inning erased a one-run deficit and led the Mets to a 4-1 defeat of the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 4 of the NLDS at Citi Field on Wednesday night, closing out the series 3-1 and advancing to the NLCS.
It’s the first time that the Mets have clinched a postseason series at Citi Field.
Here are the top takeaways
- Lindor continues to cement a legacy in New York with this run of clutch home runs. He may have saved the season with the ninth-inning shot in Atlanta, in that doubleheader on the final day of the season, and who knows how this one turns out if he didn’t deliver.
The star shortstop has won over the fans along the way. The crowd singing his walk-up song, “My Girl,” has become a thing at Citi Field. The fans continued singing on Wednesday, even when the music cut off, before segueing into the MVP chant.
In his final at-bat on Wednesday, after the grand slam in the sixth, the fans gave him a standing ovation while singing and chanting.
- David Peterson proved to be the wild card whom the Mets needed to bolster their tired bullpen, entering a big spot in the sixth inning and pitching superbly for 2.1 innings.
Peterson got Bryson Stott to ground out to first in the sixth, leaving two runners on base, and then breezed through the seventh and eighth innings.
- Edwin Diaz came on in the ninth to get the save, but not without some nervous moments as he walked the first two batters he faced.
From there, Diaz struck out pinch-hitter Kody Clemens swinging at a 99 mph fastball, then got Brandon Marsh to fly out to center.
Finally, he got Kyle Schwarber to strike out swinging at a 101 mph fastball to clinch it for the Mets.
- After leaving a small army of runners on base in the first five innings, the Mets broke through in a huge way in the sixth when Lindor launched a grand slam off reliever Carlos Estevez.
The inning began with JD Martinez singling off Jeff Hoffman. After Starling Marte was hit by a pitch and Tyrone Taylor walked, Francisco Alvarez grounded to shortstop for a force play at the plate, leaving the bases loaded.
At that point, the Mets were 2-for-11 in the game with runners in scoring position.
Phillies manager Rob Thomson made a bold move, bringing in his closer, Carlos Estevez with one out in the sixth.
- Estevez challenged Lindor with heat, throwing 100, 100 and 99 with his first three pitches while falling behind 2-1. When he came in with another 99, Lindor crushed it to right-center for the slam to make it 4-1.
- Another outstanding start by Jose Quintana. Only allowed one unearned run in 5.0 innings, so in his last six starts he has surrendered just two earned runs.
The left-hander was sharp from the start, twice striking out Schwarber swinging while coasting through three innings before giving up a hit in the fourth. Nick Castellanos’ one-out double off the left-field wall followed a walk to Bryce Harper, putting runners at second and third.
Quintana induced a slow chopper to third from Alec Bohm, but Mark Vientos couldn’t field cleanly as he set up to throw to the plate with Harper running on the play. It looked like a good throw would have gotten the out, but Vientos never got a throw off as the Phillies took a 1-0 lead.
- Ranger Suarez escaped all sorts of trouble to pitch 4.1 scoreless innings, as he allowed nine base runners.
The Mets really let the left-hander off the hook in the early innings, loading the bases in the first and second innings but coming away empty.
The first inning was their best opportunity. With the bases loaded and one out, Jose Iglesias, who came in 6-for-8 lifetime against Suarez, struck out chasing a curveball in the dirt, and then J.D. Martinez struck out to end the inning, chasing a curveball down as well.
In the second inning, they had runners at first and second with no outs. But Alvarez and Lindor both struck out swinging as well. After Vientos reached on an infield single to load the bases, Brandon Nimmo grounded out to first.
Game MVP
Lindor. Who else?