By: DANIELA PEREZ LEAL / CHIEF ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
“MVP-MVP-MVP” echoed through the sold-out Citi Field on Wednesday night as Francisco Lindor stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning. With Marte, Taylor and Alvarez loading the bases, Lindor hit a grand slam drive to center field to make history again! The epic swing put the Mets up 4-1 over the Phillies and they never looked back, advancing to their first NLCS since 2015.
“It was hard for us the whole year and then today, perfect example, got runners on and we couldn’t come up with a big hit. Until finally, who else, the MVP,” noted Mets manager Carlos Mendoza. “Like I keep saying you could write a book, you could make a movie because this is it right here. And then, the whole time it was unfolding, I’m like Lindor is going to do it again and there’s no panic. The way he controls the emotions and he hits that ball in, It’s unbelievable.”
“What can make me feel this way? My girl,” sang the crowd as Lindor settled into the batter’s box. No stranger to coming through in the big moments, Lindor blasted a fastball to right center field, marking his second career postseason grand slam and building off his heroic Wild Card clinching home run from earlier this month.
“I want to win it all and ours will be a team that will forever be remembered,” Lindor said. “This will be a team that comes every 10 years and eats for free everywhere they go. And I want to do that. I want to do that. But the job is not done.”
This grand slam represents the second one in the Mets postseason history book. In 1999, the Venezuelan infielder Edgardo Alfonso recorded one in Game 1 of the NLDS against Arizona and as postgame notes provided, “His six grand slams with the Mets are tied with Mike Piazza for the most in franchise history.”
Once again, Mendoza put his confidence in the left-hander pitcher Jose Quintana, who also was the Opening Day starter back on March 29, 2024.
“I have full confidence in Quintana. When the decision was made that he was our Opening Day pitcher it meant a lot to him but also to us and a season where he has worked hard, high and low like everything else but he has been one of our fundamental pillars in the rotation,” Mendoza said.”Today is a great opportunity to get a big win that would help us advance to the next phase. He's a player who stays calm, he's experienced and we're confident that he's going to go out there today and do his job.”
Quintana concluded with five-plus innings, allowing two hits, striking out six players on 90 pitches and walking two. He has become the fifth in franchise history to throw back-to-back five-plus innings and not allow earned runs in the postseason since Tom Glavine who achieved the same feat in 2006 in Game 2 of the NLDS against the Dodgers and Game 1 of the NLCS against St. Louis.
In the same way, Quintana did not allow an earned run in any of his last three postseason starts dating back to October 7, 2022. It is tied for the second-longest streak in MLB postseason history.
“I really trust in my stuff,” said Quintana, who enters free agency this offseason. “Everything worked properly and I’m really glad to get this series here in New York in front of our fans. It means a lot for us.”
In the sixth inning, David Peterson replaced Red Garret, where he allowed just two hits and earned his first career Postseason win. Peterson has not allowed a run over 6.1 innings in Postseason play.
Peterson kept the game 4-1 against the Phillies until the ninth inning, a moment when the famous trumpets began to sound to welcome the closing pitcher Edwin Diaz to conclude the game. Diaz saved the game and locked in the Mets to finally clinch their spot in the NLCS.
“This is something special, a dream come true. Thanking God, I have great players, great human beings, I have an incredible group of coaches and a first-class organization. We haven't done anything yet but we have to celebrate these moments because it has not been easy to get here in a year where nobody was betting on us,” said Mendoza.
Nobody believes in them but the team continues to make history on a nightly basis. Mendoza’s New York Mets clinched a Postseason series at Citi Field since the 2000 NLCS against St. Louis.
“We kept believing, We kept Smiling, this who we are,” are some of the phrases that Mendoza continues to mention and Mets make a dream come true under the direction of a great Manager and staff.
The Mets will gear up for the NLCS for the ninth time in franchise history and the first since 2015. That year, the Mets went on to sweep the Cubs in the NLCS to reach the World Series.
The Mets will travel to Los Angeles to face the Dodgers. Game 1 will take place on October 13, 2024, at 8:15 p.m.
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