NEW YORK -- The amazin' ride continues for the New York Mets. Francisco Lindor hit the go-ahead grand slam in the sixth inning Wednesday for the Mets, who beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-1 to win their National League Division Series three games to one. The Mets, who were 11 games under .
500 in early June, didn't clinch the NL's sixth seed until splitting a makeup doubleheader with the Atlanta Braves on Sept. 30 -- the day after the regular season was scheduled to end. New York will face either the Los Angeles Dodgers or San Diego Padres in the NL Championship Series beginning Sunday on the road in a best-of-seven series.
The season-ending loss represents the latest October disappointment for the NL East-winning Phillies, who reached the World Series as the No. 6 seed in 2022 but lost in the NLCS last year before being eliminated in their first playoff series this year. Lindor's grand slam came after five frustrating innings for the Mets, who left the bases loaded in the first and second against left-hander Ranger Suarez and also failed to score against Suarez and right-hander Jeff Hoffman (1-2) after putting two on with no outs in the fifth.
The Mets again loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth against Hoffman, who exited after Francisco Alvarez's grounder forced J.D. Martinez at home.
But Lindor homered beyond the right-center-field fence on the fourth pitch from closer Carlos Estevez for the second postseason grand slam in team history. Starling Marte, on third base, .