NEW YORK — Francisco Lindor had been here before. The stakes ratcheted up but it was the same businesslike trot around the bases for the Mets’ star shortstop.
Elsewhere inside Citi Field, it was pandemonium.
For five innings in Game 4 of the National League Division Series, Mets fans hung on every pitch. The Mets loaded the bases two times against Phillies starter Ranger Suarez and came up with nothing to show for it.
Finally, the heart of the Mets’ roster rose up on the grandest stage.
Lindor stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in the sixth inning against Phillies closer Carlos Estevez and delivered one of the biggest home runs in the history of Citi Field.
Follow every MLB game: Latest MLB scores, stats, schedules and standings.
“I was just trying to get a good pitch in the zone. I felt like I got a good one early and I missed it,” Lindor said. “I was just trying to do whatever the boys did which is get on base. They did an amazing job. My at-bat doesn’t come up if it’s not for the guys in front of me.”
The Mets shortstop hammered a go-ahead grand slam into the Phillies bullpen to hoist the Mets to a 4-1 win over the Phillies in front of a sold-out crowd of 44,103 fans in Flushing. It accounted for all of the Mets’ scoring as they punched their ticket to the National League Championship Series for the first time since 2015.
“For us to be celebrating here at home in front of our fan base, for Lindor to come through that way, what a story,” Carlos Mendoza said. “I keep saying it. On to the next round, we’re going to continue to do our thing, one day at a time, one series at a time, go out and compete and see what happens.”
A night to remember
For two weeks, the Mets’ magic has been out of reach for the Mets faithful.
Lindor’s ninth-inning two-run home run clinched the Mets’ postseason berth on the final day in Atlanta. Then, Pete Alonso lifted them into the Division Series with a ninth-inning three-run home run in Wild Card Game 3 in Milwaukee.
Finally, on Wednesday night, New York had its chance to celebrate. For the first time in the 16-year history of the ballpark, the Mets were popping champagne in the home clubhouse in October.
For Brandon Nimmo, a homegrown star who has spent all of 13 years of his baseball career in the Mets organization and signed back to achieve this level of success before last season, Thursday’s win was a touchstone moment. He broke down in tears as he sprinted in from left field.
“I was trying to not worry about it, keep playing our game. The game’s not over, you always go to the last out,” Nimmo said. “And the emotion that poured over me was unbelievable. To be able to do it in front of the fan base here at Citi Field for the first time is just a dream come true for me and everything I ever wanted when I got drafted.”
As the euphoria slipped out to the diamond where the Mets’ players and staff mingled with family and friends, fans packed the lower level behind the team’s dugout. Starling Marte scrambled over to spray fans in the front row with bubbly.
It was a celebration well-earned and the fans’ first opportunity to soak in the run that has been sustained over the last two weeks firsthand.
“The environment the last two days was just electric,” Pete Alonso said. “The fans were giving it their all from pitch in to pitch out. We feed off that energy and it’s so great to come back home and be able to win it. I just can’t say enough how proud I am of every single guy in this clubhouse.”
Taking in Francisco Lindor\’s grand slam
Jose Quintana needed to be careful when he watched the ball clear the fence.
The veteran was in the training room getting his blood flow restriction recovery on his left arm as Lindor’s home run gave the Mets a sudden advantage.
“Just jumping. I have a lot of emotions,” Quintana said. “It was really good when he gave us the chance to win it and Diaz closed the door. It was really cool. Can’t be better.”
This one belonged just as much to Quintana, who held the Phillies to one run (no earned) in five innings while striking out six. The only Phillies run crossed on an error by Mark Vientos.
For the second straight week in an elimination game, Quintana helped the Mets advance. This time, he had the fans behind him.
“We’re not scared to go to Philly, but having a guy like Q who is about as steady as they come in clinching scenarios, that’s the guy,” pitching coach Jeremy Hefner said. “Even if he gives up a couple runs or a couple hits, he’s not going to lose what he’s trying to do. There’s a lot of comfort in that.”
Lindor’s grand slam set off the celebration, but it was built upon other massive efforts by the Mets’ pitching staff.
David Peterson, Edwin Diaz shut the door
Six days earlier, David Peterson had one of the best vantage points in American Family Field when Alonso blasted the go-ahead home run into the suite adjacent to the Mets’ bullpen.
Then, the left-hander needed to refocus before claiming his first save.
On Thursday, Peterson had just left the mound when Lindor ripped the game open five batters. There were different emotions when he suddenly had a lead to protect.
“It was just like, ‘OK, here we go. I have a lead,'” Peterson said. “Let’s go out there, let’s do our job and get these guys back in here and eventually get the ball back to Sugar.”
Peterson tossed 2⅓ scoreless innings in relief, recording the final out of the sixth with two runners on base. He picked up a double play in the seventh and picked up outs against Trea Turner, Bryce Harper and Alec Bohm in the eighth.
That set the stage for Diaz, who walked J.T. Realmuto and Bryson Stott to begin the ninth inning. The Mets closer needed to trust his stuff and sent Citi Field into a frenzy by striking out Kody Clemens, picking up a fly ball from Brandon Marsh and then fanning Kyle Schwarber to end the game.
Despite a raucous reception, Diaz is hoping Thursday is just the latest checkpoint on the team’s October agenda.
“Our expectation is to make the World Series,” Diaz said. “I think we’re playing the best baseball of all the teams. We know we gotta face the Dodgers or San Diego, they are playing really good too, but I trust our team. We always stick together.”
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
