Mets vs. Phillies score: Francisco Lindor's grand slam sends New York to NLCS for first time since 2015

For the first time since 2015, the New York Mets have advanced to the National League Championship Series. The Mets ousted the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 4 of the Division Series on Wednesday night (NY 4, PHI 1). The Phillies are going home and the Mets will play either the Los Angeles Dodgers or San Diego Padres for the NL pennant.

The Game 4 win came courtesy of (who else?) Francisco Lindor. New York's MVP candidate turned a 1-0 deficit into a 4-1 lead with his sixth inning grand slam off Carlos Estévez. Here is the game-winning blast:

The Phillies did bring the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning. Edwin Díaz, who's had an extraordinarily heavy workload over the last two weeks, walked the first two batters of the inning. He rebounded, striking out Kody Clemens, getting Brandon Marsh to fly out to center, then striking out Kyle Schwarber to end the game. That was Philadelphia's last gasp.

Here is Díaz striking out Schwarber to send the Mets to the NLCS:

Jose Quintana held the Phillies to one unearned run in five innings while his counterpart, Ranger Suárez, had the epitome of a bend but don't break outing. He stranded the bases loaded in the first and second innings, and managed 4 1/3 scoreless innings despite allowing nine baserunners. Suárez struck out eight and really battled.

The story of the series was the Mets punishing Philadelphia's bullpen. They hit every relief Phillies manager Rob Thomson ran out there. In Game 4, it was Jeff Hoffman and Estévez. In the four-game NLDS, Philadelphia's bullpen allowed 17 runs on 20 hits and seven walks in 12 2/3 innings. The entire bullpen become unreliable.

The Mets, meanwhile, held the Phillies to 12 runs in the four-game series, and seven of the 12 came in Game 2. The Phillies scored only two runs in the first five innings of a game in the series. One was Kyle Schwarber's leadoff homer in Game 1. The other was Alec Bohm's RBI fielder's choice in the fourth inning of Game 4. They rarely played from ahead.

Since early June, the Mets have been the hottest team baseball, and they've already eliminated two division winners this postseason in the Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers. Their offense has been relentless -- Game 4 was no better than their fourth-most miraculous comeback the last two weeks -- and their rotation on point.

The Phillies will head home for the winter and shift their focus to 2025. The Mets don't know who they're playing in the NLCS yet, though they will open on the west coast either way. The NLCS begins with Game 1 on Sunday.

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Mets 4, Phillies 1: NY heading to NLCS

Edwin Díaz made things interesting in the ninth inning with a pair of walks, but he rebounded to strike out Kyle Schwarber to end the game. Here is the series-clinching out:

The Mets are in the NLCS for the first time since 2015. They will play either the Dodgers or Padres. San Diego leads that series and can punch their ticket to the NLCS later tonight. The Mets don't know who they'll play yet, but they know the series will start on the West Coast. The NLCS begins Sunday in either San Diego or Los Angeles.

October 10, 2024, 12:31 AM
Oct. 09, 2024, 8:31 pm EDT
 
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Marsh flies out to center. It's down to Schwarber. He represents the tying run.

October 10, 2024, 12:22 AM
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Clemens strikes out. The Mets are two outs away.

October 10, 2024, 12:21 AM
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Kody Clemens up now. Brandon Marsh is on deck. Kyle Schwarber is in the hole.

October 10, 2024, 12:20 AM
Oct. 09, 2024, 8:20 pm EDT
 
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Díaz walked the first two batters of the ninth. The tying run is at the plate.

October 10, 2024, 12:18 AM
Oct. 09, 2024, 8:18 pm EDT
 
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The Mets are three outs away

And Edwin Díaz walked the leadoff batter to start the ninth.

October 10, 2024, 12:17 AM
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Close, potentially pivotal call: 

October 10, 2024, 12:07 AM
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The isolated crowd mic at Citi Field is extremely cool

October 9, 2024, 11:57 PM
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Lindor's grand slam puts Mets on top

The Mets have squandered opportunity after opportunity in Game 4, but then shortstop Francisco Lindor came through with the bases loaded and one out in the sixth inning: 

That's a grand slam, and that's a 1-0 Mets deficit turned into a 4-1 Mets lead with a single swing. That's also the second postseason grand slam in Mets franchise history. 

The Mets had previously frittered away two bases-loaded opportunities earlier on Wednesday night, and earlier in the sixth inning they had a runner cut down at the plate. Lindor, though, didn't miss on a 2-1 Carlos Estévez fastball that caught a bit too much of the plate. It left Lindor's bat at 109.5 mph and traveled 398 feet. More to the point, it improved the Mets' chances of winning Game 4 -- and thus advancing to the NLCS -- from 55.4% all the way to 91.4%. Lindor, who will likely finish second in the NL MVP balloting to Shohei Ohtani, has had his share of big hits in 2024. That was without question the biggest. 

October 9, 2024, 11:39 PM
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This game has defeated the pitch clock.

October 9, 2024, 11:36 PM
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Not quite sure leaving Hoffman in here is the right move for the Phillies

October 9, 2024, 11:30 PM
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The bases are full of Mets. There are no outs. The Mets stranded the bases loaded in the first and second innings.

October 9, 2024, 11:29 PM
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October 9, 2024, 11:26 PM
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Mets get their leadoff man on. Here comes another opportunity for the hosts. 

October 9, 2024, 11:22 PM
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Stott grounds out. The Phillies have had a few chances to tack on, but haven't. It's 1-0 going to the bottom of the sixth.

October 9, 2024, 11:18 PM
Oct. 09, 2024, 7:18 pm EDT
 
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David Peterson, who worked as a starter during the regular season, is on here in relief to face Bryson Stott with two on and two outs.

October 9, 2024, 11:17 PM
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Reed Garrett punches out Castellanos to begin his day.

 
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Here is Hoffman escaping that fifth inning:

October 9, 2024, 11:00 PM
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Mets have left eight runners on base thus far in Game 4. 

October 9, 2024, 10:59 PM
Oct. 09, 2024, 6:59 pm EDT
 
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I thought it was the sixth inning. That was only the fifth. The Phillies are up 1-0 with 12 outs to get. Game 1 is a reminder that one run is not enough against these Mets.

October 9, 2024, 10:59 PM
Oct. 09, 2024, 6:59 pm EDT
 
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Once again, the Mets fail to cash in. Phillies lead 1-0 through five.

 
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Hoffman punches out Alonso for the second out in the frame.

 
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Suárez fans Nimmo

Those were 4 1/3 ugly innings, but they were scoreless. So far, anyway. Ranger Suárez struck out Brandon Nimmo for the first out of the fifth, and that ends his day. Jeff Hoffman is coming in to face Pete Alonso and Jose Iglesias with runners on first and second.

October 9, 2024, 10:52 PM
Oct. 09, 2024, 6:52 pm EDT
 
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Suárez strikes out Nimmo for the first out. That'll be all for Suárez today. 

 
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Suárez has done well to work around traffic all day. We'll see if that trend holds here. 

 
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Gotta think Nimmo is Suárez's last batter. Mets have two on and no outs.

October 9, 2024, 10:49 PM
Oct. 09, 2024, 6:49 pm EDT
 
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Lindor doubles down the line to open the fifth. Suárez is staying in even though Jeff Hoffman is warmed up and ready to go in the bullpen.

October 9, 2024, 10:45 PM
Oct. 09, 2024, 6:45 pm EDT
 
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Lindor with a leadoff double

Mets have the tying run in scoring position to open the bottom of the fifth.

 
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Ranger Suárez is still in the game here in the fifth. Did not expect that given the first two innings.

October 9, 2024, 10:43 PM
Oct. 09, 2024, 6:43 pm EDT
 
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Halfway home in Game 4

Phillies lead 1-0. Mets coming to bat having not yet cashed in on their myriad opportunities. 

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