Francisco Lindor hit a grand slam in the sixth inning, his latest clutch swing in an extraordinary season full of them, and the New York Mets reached the National League Championship Series with a 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday.
Edwin Diaz struck out Kyle Schwarber with two runners aboard to end it as New York finished off the rival Phillies in Game 4 of their best-of-five Division Series, winning 3-1 to wrap up a post-season series at home for the first time in 24 years.
Immediately afterward in a raucous locker room, the Mets had their first champagne-soaked clinching celebration in Citi Field's 16-season history.
"This is the kind of stuff that I was dreaming about," outfielder Brandon Nimmo said in a clubhouse interview shown on the giant videoboard in centre. "This has been a long time coming. We wanted it so bad for our fan base."
After three days of rest, New York will open the best-of-seven NLCS on Sunday at the San Diego Padres or Los Angeles Dodgers. The two teams will play a winner-take-all Game 5 in their NLDS on Friday at 8:08 p.m. ET.
Mr. Smile gives <a href="https://twitter.com/Mets?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Mets</a> fans a reason to smile <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NLDS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NLDS</a> <a href="https://t.co/XA0IEHQQfP">pic.twitter.com/XA0IEHQQfP</a>
"Let's keep this thing rolling!" Mets slugger Pete Alonso told revelling fans still in the stands when he popped out of the clubhouse party for an on-field interview with his large goggles protecting his eyes. "So proud of this group. We've overcome so much."
After falling short again in October, Bryce Harper and the Phillies are still looking for the franchise's third championship.
"We have a really
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Philadelphia Phillies
Francisco Lindor
Brandon Nimmo
Bryce Harper
Pete Alonso
Kyle Schwarber
Edwin Diaz