Three takeaways from the Mets' NLDS-clinching win over the Phillies
The New York Mets pose for a photograph after defeating the Philadelphia Phillies in game four of the National League Division Series at Citi Field on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. Credit: Jim McIsaac
For the first time in 24 years, and the first time at Citi Field, champagne bottles were popped in the home clubhouse in Flushing.
A large remnant of fans remained hours after the Mets defeated the Phillies to advance to the NLCS, serenading their hero, Francisco Lindor, with the strains of “My Girl” - the walk-up music he plays to honor his daughters and wife.
Brandon Nimmo wept openly.
Jesse Winker looked out at the crowd and simply mouthed, “wow.”
That pretty much sums it up, doesn’t it? Lindor’s sixth-inning grand slam propelled these Mets to their first NLCS since 2015, and avoided the need for a Game 5 in Philadelphia. Their reward was getting a little rest, and getting to celebrate at home after 11 games on the road - a span that included a do-or-die doubleheader in Atlanta to punch their ticket to the playoffs and a clinching Game 3 Wild Card Game in Milwaukee.
Here are three takeaways from the 4-1 victory.
Only Francisco Lindor could have crafted a moment like that.
Oh, sure - there have been a motley of heroes so far this postseason, but Lindor made the ascension from leader to de facto captain this year, and when the Mets needed their biggest jolt, he provided.
The team threatened time and time again against Ranger Suarez and a crew of relievers - loading the bases twice before with nothing to show for it.
That ended with Lindor, who came up with one out and the bases loaded in the sixth. Despite Phillies closer Carlos Estevez pumping in fastballs at around 101-mph, there was an inevitability to Lindor's heroics.
“Francisco [had] the swing that everyone, I think, in the building thought he was going to have right there - just incredible,” president of baseball operations David Stearns said. “He’s showing up in the biggest moments of the year consistently. I don’t know that there’s another player in baseball that you want at the plate right now in that situation…As soon as he made contact, this place exploded.”
Maybe it’s time to be concerned about Edwin Diaz, but there’s hope.
Despite the three-run lead, Diaz’s ninth was rocky. Nine of the first 11 pitches he threw went for balls, and he put the first two batters on, allowing Roger Clemens’ son, Kody Clemens, to come up as the tying run - something that, had it happened, would have sent Mets fans into an existential spiral. Diaz most certainly must be gassed - he’s thrown over 150 pitches in the last 10 days - but he also said he was being a little too cute.
“First, I was trying to hit the corners instead of going after the hitters,” he said. “When the pitching coach came to me and the guys came to me, they said, hey, your fastball is looking great today. Just throw it right in the middle. They won’t have a chance because the fastball has a lot of life. That’s what I did.”
There’s good news and bad news there: Diaz, with his 8.10 postseason ERA this year, is far from untouchable. But if his stuff is still good, and now that he'll be rested, there’s a chance he could rebound.
Greatness is the goal.
Clinching on home soil is great, but a lot of the veteran Mets were looking at legacy, too.
“I think that’s something really, really special,” said Nimmo, eyes still red-rimmed. “Until you do something, there’s always a [heaviness] to it, and that makes it even harder to do. We just did it. We just broke that barrier.”
Added Lindor: “I want to win it all - [that] ours will be a team that will forever be remembered. This will be a team that comes every 10 years and eat for free everywhere they go. And I want to do that. But the job is not done.”
Got that? Good. Now read the first letter of all three takeaways.
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
