Francisco Lindor's grand slam lifts Mets into NLCS as magical ride continues

Stay comfortable, New York Mets fans. Your magic carpet ride continues.

The Metropolitans, who are reliving their "Miracle" nickname from the infamous 1973 season, are headed to the NLCS after taking Game 4 of a division series against the Philadelphia Phillies, and they did it in wild fashion.

The Mets did not get the big hit early. They loaded the bases in both the first and second innings but came away scoreless. In the fifth, they put their first two runners on, but Jeff Hoffman saved the day by retiring inherited runners. 

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The Mets again loaded the bases in the sixth before an out was recorded, and, this time, they cashed in.

Francisco Lindor, the team’s most valuable player, who has come through time and time again throughout this magic carpet ride, blasted a grand slam to give New York a 4-1 lead.

Edwin Diaz came on to close it in the ninth, and he walked the first two batters. But after striking out Kody Clemens, he got Brandon Marsh to fly out.

That brought up Kyle Schwarber, whose October resume speaks for itself. He entered the at-bat 0-for-9 with seven strikeouts against the closer, and Schwarber swung and missed on an outside slider, giving the Mets a 4-1 victory.

It's the Mets’ first trip to the NLCS since 2015, when they won the pennant. 

Jose Quintana got the start, and he tossed five innings of one-run ball. That run was unearned, so his postseason ERA remains 0.00 after he threw six scoreless innings against the Milwaukee Brewers in a do-or-die game in a wild-card series.

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The Mets are starting to feel like a team of destiny. New York had a chance to be eliminated from postseason contention on the final day of the season, but the Mets split a wild doubleheader to clinch. Then, in their wild-card series, they were two outs away from going home.

Trailing 2-0, Pete Alonso belted a three-run homer. It was the first in MLB history by a player when his team was trailing in the ninth inning or later of a winner-take-all postseason game.

It's another tough exit for the Phillies, who have quite literally gone backward. They lost in the World Series in 2022 and lost in the NLCS last year. Now, it’s an early goodbye from the division series. They did the same thing from 2008 to 2011, and an 11-year postseason drought followed.

The Mets have had a wild schedule, at one point playing six games in five days, three of which were postseason contests. Now they can relax until Sunday and await the winner of the Padres-Dodgers series. San Diego leads the series 2-1, with Game 4 later Wednesday in San Diego.

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