‘Swing of lifetime’: Lindor slam puts Mets in NLCS
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Jorge Castillo, ESPN Staff Writer
NEW YORK — Before the New York Mets gathered for another celebratory team photo Wednesday night, after another thrilling postseason victory extended this dream season to the National League Championship Series, Francisco Lindor made it a point to hug as many people as possible.
The night’s star thanks to a go-ahead grand slam, the franchise cornerstone paid like a franchise cornerstone for these nights, bounced around the infield grass at Citi Field from embrace to embrace. There was a warm hug with Alex Cohen, owner Steve Cohen’s wife, who was in tears. There were daps with teammates and coaches and support staff.
Finally, before rushing to the mound for the team photo, there was an extended hug by second base with Brandon Nimmo, the longest-tenured player on the roster. The shortstop and the outfielder squeezed tight. Nimmo dug his face into Lindor’s shoulder. Tears welled in his eyes.
“It’s really hard to put into words what we’ve gone through behind closed doors,” Nimmo said. “And so for us to be able to experience this together, it’s very emotional. We are trying to enjoy every second of this.”
Behind Lindor’s slam in the sixth inning, the Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-1 in Game 4 of the NL Division Series to reach the NLCS for the first time since 2015. There is more work to be done, eight wins remaining to reach the goal of hoisting the franchise’s first World Series trophy since 1986. But Wednesday’s win carried weight. The emotions showed that.
“This is amazing,” Lindor said. “This is an amazing day.”
By taking the series 3-1, the Mets clinched a playoff series at Citi Field for the first time in the ballpark’s 15-year history and clinched a series at home at all for the first time since the 2000 NLCS. They’ll hop on a cross-country flight to play Game 1 of the NLCS on Sunday in either San Diego or Los Angeles, a fact that seemed unfathomable five months ago.
The Mets started the season 0-5. They lost 15 of 19 games in May to fall 11 games under .500, a disastrous stretch that culminated with reliever Jorge Lopez throwing his glove into the home crowd during a loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 29.
The situation was dire enough for Lindor to call a players-only meeting. New York has gone 72-42 since.
“Nobody has us anywhere close to this moment,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “And for us to be celebrating here at home in front of our fan base, for Lindor to come through in that way, what a story. I keep saying it.”
The story includes Grimace, a purple fast-food mascot believed by some to have sparked a seven-game winning streak after throwing out the first pitch in June. It includes a World War II veteran named Seymour Weiner becoming an internet sensation after being honored in April. It includes Jose Iglesias, a veteran infielder who didn’t play in the majors last season, began the year in Triple A, was called up two days after the players-only meeting on the last day of May, became an integral player on the field while a song he released a month later became the team’s anthem, and will release a remix to the track with Pitbull on Friday. It includes “OMG” signs and a lucky pumpkin and emotional support eye black.
Most importantly, it includes a seemingly never-ending supply of clutch hits.
On Wednesday, it was Lindor’s turn — again. Nearly a month after a back injury surfaced to jeopardize his season and 12 days after he delivered a go-ahead, two-run home run in the Mets’ playoff-clinching win over the Atlanta Braves, Lindor stepped to the plate in the sixth inning with the bases loaded.
Phillies manager Rob Thomson summoned Carlos Estévez, his closer, to face Lindor. The aggressive move backfired. Estévez fell behind 2-1 and grooved a 99 mph fastball over the plate. Lindor swatted it 398 feet into the visitors bullpen.
“That 341 is looking pretty freakin’ good right now,” Steve Cohen told The New York Post, referring to Lindor’s contract.
Lindor did not flip his bat. He did not scream. He did not explode with emotion. He did not have to. After hearing boos from the home crowd in April for his slow start, hysteria surrounded the $341 million shortstop in October.
“I remember putting my hands up,” Mets first baseman Pete Alonso said. “My hands were just in the air. I was just in awe. That was an unbelievable swing. That was the swing of a lifetime. That’s what you practice in the backyard as a kid growing up.”
To that point in the game, the theme of the evening was the Mets’ wasted opportunities. New York left the bases loaded in the first and second innings against Ranger Suárez. They went 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left eight runners on base through five innings. Suárez, after throwing 53 pitches in the first two innings, somehow pitched into the fifth by accumulating all six of his strikeouts with his curveball.
“I remember putting my hands up. My hands were just in the air. I was just in awe. That was an unbelievable swing. That was the swing of a lifetime. That’s what you practice in the backyard as a kid growing up.”
Pete Alonso on Francisco Lindor’s grand slam
The Phillies, meanwhile, manufactured a run against Jose Quintana in the fourth inning. Bryce Harper worked a one-out walk. Nick Castellanos roped a double on the next pitch. Then Alec Bohm hit a dribbler to third baseman Mark Vientos, who bobbled the ball and couldn’t make a play. Harper scored, and the Phillies led 1-0 with only one hit.
The unearned run was the only damage Philadelphia could manage against Quintana, a 35-year-old left-hander who entered with a 0.63 ERA over his seven starts since Aug. 25. He held Philadelphia to the one run, two hits and two walks. He has yet to give up an earned run in 11 postseason innings.
Quintana was in the trainer’s room beginning his recovery treatment when his teammates mounted another threat in the sixth inning. It started with a leadoff single from J.D. Martinez off All-Star reliever Jeff Hoffman. Starling Marte was hit by a pitch, and Tyrone Taylor drew a walk to juice the bases a third time.
The first attempt to break through went to Francisco Alvarez. He grounded into a fielder’s choice at home plate. Up next came Lindor.
“The whole time, I was like, this is who we are,” Mendoza said. “This is part of the story. This is part of the book, the movie, whatever you want to call it. And then when he connects with that ball, I just wanted him to enjoy it and watch the boys jump up and down. It was hard for us to score runs in this game. Lindor, our MVP.”
Lindor’s blast has the Mets four wins from the sixth league pennant in franchise history. It is the success he envisioned when he signed his 10-year, $341 million contract extension on the eve of opening day in 2021, three months after the Mets acquired him from Cleveland. And it is the success Nimmo envisioned when the Mets drafted him in the first round a decade before that.
The turbulence along the way is what made Wednesday so memorable. The reason Lindor raced around hugging people. The reason Nimmo shed tears. The job is not over, but the Mets savored this step.
“I love them for believing in me,” Lindor said. “I really believe in every one of them. I believe that anybody at any given time can do something special.”
NEW YORK — Juan Soto‘s numbers are getting ugly.
The slumping New York Mets slugger went hitless again Wednesday and failed to get the ball out of the infield in a 9-4 loss to the Chicago White Sox.
After signing a record $765 million contract in December as a free agent, Soto is batting a measly .224 with eight homers and 25 RBIs in 55 games during a turbulent first season with the Mets.
The four-time All-Star and five-time Silver Slugger winner was 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout Wednesday in a dreary performance that matched the weather. He was booed by a sparse crowd at Citi Field, where only a few thousand fans were on hand for a hastily rescheduled game.
With rain in the forecast Wednesday night, the first pitch was moved up six hours Tuesday to 1:10 p.m.
Soto is 0-for-16 since lacing a two-run double off the right-center fence Saturday in a 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. And nothing seems to be going his way: He lost a hit on a chaotic play Tuesday night when he was called out for passing teammate Brandon Nimmo on the basepaths.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza expressed faith in Soto before and after Wednesday’s loss, saying that Soto passes the “eye test” despite what the stats might say about his performance.
“Today was one of those days where he didn’t hit the ball hard, but I thought his foundation — his lower half — was in a better position,” Mendoza said.
Soto’s batting average has dipped 61 points below his career mark entering the season. He hasn’t homered since May 9, a span of 75 plate appearances, and he has just seven hits in his last 59 at-bats (.119).
With runners in scoring position this year, he’s batting .130 (6-for-46) with a homer and 16 RBIs.
That after racking up 41 home runs, 109 RBIs and a .989 OPS with the crosstown New York Yankees last season, when he helped them reach the World Series and finished third in AL MVP voting.
Soto has been particularly cold since May 16, when he got booed incessantly in his return to Yankee Stadium with the Mets. He seemed to take the harsh reception in stride by doffing his helmet to the crowd before his first at-bat, but Soto is hitting only .114 (5-for-44) with one extra-base hit since.
Most advanced metrics suggest Soto is hitting into hard luck. He ranks among the 90th percentile in several categories at Baseball Savant, though his bat speed ranks in the 73rd percentile, down from the 94th percentile last season.
Soto made three outs on balls hit at least 99 mph in Tuesday night’s 6-4 win over the White Sox.
“Yesterday was a perfect example of his season so far: 0-for-4 with three balls [almost] 100 mph,” Mendoza said with a chuckle Wednesday morning. “Hard to explain. But it’s baseball.
“Too good of a hitter. Too good of a player. He’ll be Juan Soto here.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Utah Mammoth are bringing over two of their top prospects from Russia in time for next season, signing defenseman Dmitri Simashev and forward Daniil But to three-year entry-level contracts.
General manager Bill Armstrong announced the deals Wednesday, the latest bit of good news for the club that just got its full-time name and is going into its second season in Salt Lake City.
Simashev was the sixth pick in 2023 and But was taken 12th in that same draft when the team was known as the Arizona Coyotes. Each of the 20-year-olds spent this past season in the KHL.
“After we drafted them, we knew there was a long process before the day we would actually sign them,” Armstrong said on a video call with reporters. “There was a lot of work behind the scenes to get it done.”
Simashev and But were teammates for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, helping the club win the Gagarin Cup for the first time in franchise history. Getting them signed means they could play with Utah in the NHL or Tucson of the American Hockey League next season.
“You never want to rule (the AHL) out, but these guys have played at elite level over in Russia and played for one of the top teams and they experienced a high-pressure culture where they play, so there’s a good opportunity that they might not ever touch the American League,” Armstrong said, acknowledging there will be a transition period. “I believe both of them will come into camp and will have a good opportunity to compete for a job, and I think they’ll be close to making it.”
Armstrong called the 6-foot-5, 207-pound Simashev the biggest defenseman he has drafted with this good of mobility.
“He can cover ground,” Armstrong said. “He’s one of the best skaters. He works at his game. He’s extremely good on the D side of the puck, and there’s some room for him to grow offensively obviously, too, to put into play with his skating.”
But, even bigger at 6-foot-6 and 216 pounds, reminds Armstrong of Buffalo forward Tage Thompson and similar-sized players who took a little longer to adjust to North American rinks that are 15 feet narrower than those in Europe.
“He’s a massive human being, and he’s learning to use his body more effectively and it takes a while when you’re that big to put the strength on to compete against men,” Armstrong said. “He plays a North American-style game. He’s extremely aggressive cutting into the net and occupying the front of the net with elite stick skills.”
It was a key step just getting them to North America to fit in with a young core led by captain Clayton Keller, forward Logan Cooley, defenseman Mikhail Sergachev and goaltender Karel Vejmelka. Sergachev and veterans Ian Cole and Olli Maatta have each won the Stanley Cup multiple times, Keller and Cooley are coming off leading the U.S. to gold at the world championships and Simashev and But are also KHL champions.
“It’s something that I love to see in our young players, the winning and the championships,” Armstrong said. “If you just continue to bring in winners, it’s going to translate into our club winning. But we’ve got to make the playoffs first. That’s a huge thing.”
With the salary cap going up, Armstrong has more than $21 million in room to use in free agency and trades to take the Mammoth to the next level and end the organization’s playoff drought of 12 years — excluding the expanded format in the bubble in 2020. They won the second draft lottery drawing to move up from picking 14th to fourth, giving the front office the chance to add another player with elite talent for the future.
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