SPORT NEWS: Francisco Lindor’s Heroics Thrill MLB Fans as the Mets Clinch the NLCS with a Game 4 Win Against the Phillies, Solidifying Their Championship Aspirations .giang

The New York Mets—utterly relentless at the plate in the past two weeks—kept knocking on the door during Game 4 of the NLDS on Thursday, surprisingly to no avail.

Bases loaded in the first inning. No runs. Bases loaded in the second inning. No runs. Runners on first and second with no outs in the fifth. No runs.

So when Francisco Lindor stepped to the plate with one out in the bottom of the sixth, the bases loaded and the Mets trailing the Philadelphia Phillies 1-0, the question pinging around the minds of fans at Citi Field was whether this would be the moment the dam finally broke.

Boy did it.

Lindor provided that resounding answer, blasting a grand slam off Carlos Estévez—generally Philadelphia’s closer but called upon to handle a high-leverage situation—that provided all the offense New York would need in a 4-1 win, ending Philadelphia’s season in the process.

As you might imagine, Mets fans and pundits alike had nothing but praise for Lindor after that blast, and for New York’s resiliency in general:

Because the Mets can’t do anything without drama, Edwin Díaz walked the first two batters in the top of the ninth inning, bringing the tying run to the plate. But he settled down from there, striking out two and inducing a fly ball to send New York to the NLCS and send the Phillies packing.

This wasn’t a terribly complicated series. Philadelphia’s starting pitching was generally solid, but the Mets absolutely mashed what was a highly-regarded bullpen coming into the playoffs. Those issues were compounded by a Phillies lineup that showed little plate discipline throughout the series and only managed five runs in the three losses.

It will be a winter of soul-searching within the Phillies organization after the team regressed for a second straight postseason, reaching the World Series in 2022, the NLCS in 2023 and only the NLDS this season.

But for the Mets, the magical run continues, thanks largely to Lindor. No team in baseball has come up bigger in the clutch in the past two weeks than this Grimace-graced bunch, so it was only a matter of time on Wednesday before it found a way.