NEW YORK — Francisco Lindor knew it as soon as he hit it. And so did the 44,103 Mets fans in attendance who exploded into a euphoric celebration as soon as the ball left the bat, sailing 398 feet into the Phillies bullpen for a grand slam. Lindor didn’t admire his home run on Wednesday.
Instead, he broke into his trot while Citi Field erupted, chanting “M-V-P!” as he circled the bases, the home run putting the Mets ahead 4-1 — the final score — and taking them to the NL Championship Series for the first time since 2015. The blast allowed the Mets to enjoy champagne at home for the first time in the ballpark’s history, beating the Phillies in the best-of-five NL Division Series 3-1. New York will start the NLCS against either the San Diego Padres or Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.
San Diego has a 2-1 series lead. Lindor’s home run put him in rare Mets company, joining Edgardo Alfonzo and Robin Ventura as players to hit grand slams in the franchise’s postseason history. BUY NLCS PLAYOFF TICKETS HERE Fans had been waiting all game for the Mets to capitalize on opportunities.
They missed a big one in the first inning. After third baseman Mark Vientos reached on a one-out double, Brandon Nimmo and Pete Alonso got on with a walk and an infield single, respectively. Then, Phillies starter Ranger Suárez struck out the next two batters to get out of the inning.
In the second inning, they worked into a virtually identical situation. With the bases loaded and two outs.
