Francisco Lindor, Mets blast Phillies with NLDS flashback
Francisco Lindor of the Mets celebrates his first-inning home run against the Philadelphia Phillies with teammate Pete Alonso at Citi Field on Monday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The stakes weren’t as high and the ballpark wasn’t as packed, but when Francisco Lindor and the Mets hosted the Phillies on Monday night, the result felt awfully familiar.
Lindor homered twice — once to begin the game and once to all but end it — to power the Mets to a 5-4 win in the opener of a three-game series between two of the top teams in the National League.
With a chill in the air, it was reminiscent of last October, Game 4 of the NL Division Series. Lindor’s grand slam, perhaps the biggest moment in Citi Field history, ended the Phillies’ season and sent the Mets to the NL Championship Series.
These Mets (16-7) have a long way to go before matching that feat. But after another well-rounded win — this time against a good team — in front of an energetic crowd of an announced 35,430, it felt possible. Edwin Diaz hung on for the save after allowing Bryson Stott’s three-run home run.
The Mets have won five games in a row for the second time this season. Last year, they didn’t pick up their second such streak until mid-June.
“It’s a great time to be a Met,” said Tylor Megill, who struck out a career-high-tying 10 batters in 5 1/3 scoreless innings.
Lindor said: “He’s 100% right. It’s a great organization. It’s a fantastic group of guys. It’s an amazing front office. Everybody wants it. I’m super proud of being a New York Met.”
Lindor got it started in the bottom of the first, launching Aaron Nola’s curveball off the face of the second deck in rightfield. It was his second leadoff homer in as many games.
Nola (6 1/3 innings, four runs) still was on the mound in the seventh, but when the Mets put two runners on with one out, the Phillies turned to righthander Jose Ruiz.
Then came the big at-bat before the biggest at-bat. Tyrone Taylor stepped to the plate with a plan: smoke a line drive in the gap. If not, a strikeout would work, too. That would ensure, at least, that Lindor would get a turn next.
Instead, Taylor ended up with “the worst-case scenario for me,” he said. He sent a ground ball to third base for what nearly was an inning-ending double play. By beating out second baseman Stott’s relay throw, though, he earned kudos from those in the dugout.
“Panic sprint,” Taylor said with a laugh. “Any time you get one of the best players in the game up to bat, give him a chance with runners in scoring position, it’s a big deal. That’s what my goal was there.”
Against Lindor, Ruiz left a 95-mph fastball over the middle of the plate. He crushed it over the centerfield wall.
With another productive game, Lindor’s season numbers all of a sudden look strong after a middling few weeks. He is batting .284 with an .840 OPS. His five home runs and 13 RBIs are second on the team to Pete Alonso.
“He wants to contribute so hard and he wants it so bad for the team that at times he can get in his own way,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Now, he’s more like, you know what, I just gotta be myself. That’s what he’s doing right now, and he’s getting a lot of results.”
Jesse Winker, who also homered off Nola, said: “He can impact the game in so many different ways. He looks amazing at the plate. It’s really fun to watch. Day in and day out, he does something special. It’s cool to see.”
Notes & quotes: The Mets expect Jose Siri to miss eight to 10 weeks with his fractured left leg, president of baseball operations David Stearns said, which would mean an approximate mid-June return . . . Francisco Alvarez (left hand surgery) and Jeff McNeil (right oblique strain) will resume their rehabilitation assignments with Triple-A Syracuse, playing full games Tuesday and Wednesday. McNeil will man second base in the first game, centerfield in the second as the Mets look to keep his versatility up and their options open . . . Stearns on Acuna playing centerfield: “We’re making some progress. We’ll get to the point where I think we have confidence in putting him out there.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
