Biggest hit of the year leads to the most critical win of the year to-date for the Mets
Francisco Lindor's biggest moment of the season led to the Mets biggest win of the season to-date
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What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets came back from the dead in the ninth inning to beat the Blue Jays 6-1 on Wednesday afternoon in Toronto (box)
After being no-hit for eight innings on Wednesday and trailing 1-0, Francisco Lindor hit a home run to lead off the ninth inning to break up the no-hitter, break up the shut out, and tie the game at 1-1 (watch)
The Mets scored two more runs on two sac flies - one from Pete Alonso and another from Starling Marte, and then Francisco Álvarez hit a three-run home run to put the Blue Jays away (watch)
Despite walking four batters, Sean Manaea allowed just one run with eight strikeouts over 6.2 IP
Ryne Stanek made things a little interesting in the ninth, recorded two outs but allowed a run and forced Edwin Díaz into the game - he threw one pitch for his 18th save of the season
The Mets won for the seventh time when trailing after eight innings, now 7-64 in such games this season. They’re 28-44 when the opponent scores first, 14-6-5 in road series, 26-16-8 in series overall, 8-2 in September, 24-22 against AL teams, 65-39 when homering at least once, 54-18 when scoring at least five runs, and 31-20 since the All-Star Game
Playoff Race 🏁
The Mets re-gained sole possession of the third wild card in the National League on Wednesday thanks to beating Toronto and the Nationals beating the Braves.
The Mets also gained ground on the Padres, who fell into the second wild card thanks to their loss to the Mariners and the Diamondbacks beating up on the Rangers.
They are one game ahead of Atlanta for the third wild card, 1.5 games behind the Padres for the second wild card, and remained two games behind the Diamondbacks for the top wild card spot in the National League.
There are 16 games remaining.
Per FanGraphs, the Mets have a 56.8% chance of making the postseason.
New York has the 5th hardest remaining schedule in MLB the rest of the way.
Tiebreakers:
vs. ATL: 5-5
vs. ARI: 4-3 (finished)
vs. SD: 5-2 (finished)
vs. CHC: 4-3 (finished)
vs. STL: 4-2 (finished)
Injury Updates 🏥
RHP Paul Blackburn (Lower back discomfort) returned to New York for imaging. He is not expected to pitch against the Phillies this weekend
Down on the Farm 🌾
C Kevin Parada (#25 prospect, Double-A): 2-for-4, HR, 3 RBI
INF Jett Williams (#2 prospect, Double-A): 2-for-5, 2B, RBI, R
BOX SCORES
Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR
Mets top 30 prospects
Today’s Game 🗓
The Mets are off today. They open a three-game series with the Phillies on Friday night at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
Francisco Lindor’s “LIND-SANITY” moment defined his MVP case on Wednesday… ✍️
If anyone is questioning why Francisco Lindor is the MVP in the National League, look no further than what he did in the ninth inning on Wednesday.
The Mets were being no-hit thanks to another gem from Blue Jays phenom Bowden Francis. Their offense has been ice cold all month, epitomized by what could only be described as a feeble showing for eight innings on Wednesday afternoon.
It felt like the Mets were teetering towards the edge again thanks to their offensive brownout, and certainly a game they were unquestionably going to be no-hit in and also, lose a must-win game and a must-win series against the lowly Toronto Blue Jays ahead of another difficult stretch over the final 2 1/2 weeks of the year.
Thankfully, Lindor was up to lead off the ninth and as he has done so many times during this magical season for the Mets shortstop, he delivered what was indisputably the biggest hit of the year for the team and the biggest hit of the year for him.
He smashed a fastball at the belt for a line drive home run to right field to erase the no-hitter, erase the shutout, erase the deficit, and erase the game for the Blue Jays.
Starling Marte, Pete Alonso and of course Francisco Álvarez did the rest to secure their magical win, hanging five more runs on the Blue Jays beleaguered bullpen to run away with a game they seemed destined to lose for the first 24 outs of this game.
It was another game they probably don’t win without Lindor. And if the Mets don’t win that game yesterday, what does that mean for their season?
You could say that about a countless number of games this season. And it’s not just what he has done at the plate.
No, it’s the runs he has saved, the games he has saved, and quite possibly the season he has saved simply with his presence and wizardry at shortstop for all 146 games the Mets have played in 2024.
That combined with moments like the one he produced on Wednesday afternoon, with the Mets dead in the water and staring down the pipe of being no-hit in a game they simply could not lose defines Lindor’s MVP candidacy.
See, as I’ve said many times, the MVP award should be defined by a player’s value to his or her club in sports, regardless of the level. The MVP isn’t and shouldn’t always be the league’s best player, even though Lindor has been among the league’s best overall players in 2024. And Lindor’s value to this club - as it was defined once again on Wednesday when he came up to the plate and saved the day for his club - is unmatched by any other player in the National League.
And I say this with the utmost respect to Shohei Ohtani. I think he is the most amazing and best player we are going to see in our lifetime. If he goes 50/50 in 2024, the word amazing doesn’t begin to define the magnificence of such a feat.
But again, if Ohtani is taken out of the picture for the Dodgers, are they still a playoff team?
They’re probably still winning that division without Ohtani, to be perfectly honest, whereas the Mets aren’t even sniffing contention without Lindor.
Again, look no further than yesterday’s game in Toronto.
Look at that picture above. Look at Lindor’s teammates.
They know he’s their MVP.
Now, the Mets are taking this party to Philadelphia with their final and most difficult challenge of the season ahead of them. 13 of their final 16 games are against the Phillies, Braves and Brewers with one teed-up series against the Nationals to open their final homestand on Monday.
The Mets are 41-39 against teams over .500 in 2024, but 27-14 in such games since May 30.
The playoffs for the Mets continue on Friday night in Philadelphia. Lets see what this club is made off, again.
Around the League 🚩
The Braves were shut down by Kyle Irvin and the Nationals 5-1 in Washington on Wednesday night
The Diamondbacks hung five home runs on the Rangers in their 14-4 victory in Phoenix
Bryan Woo allowed two runs over 6.2 IP for the Mariners, and the Padres kicked the ball around in their 5-2 loss to Seattle
An afternoon that was leading to a miserable night totally changed with a few good swings of the bat. Hopefully this is the final spark to post season.