Francisco Lindor’s Heroics Lead Mets To Victory In Epic Subway Series Finale

Sunday’s Subway Series finale was one for the ages. In what was an absolute rollercoaster of a game, the Mets beat the Yankees 7-6, with the help of three Francisco Lindor homers, including a go-ahead shot in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Coming into the contest, both teams had something to play for. The 79-63 Yankees have their eyes fixed on clinching a postseason spot. While the Tampa Bay Rays will almost certainly win the AL East, the Yankees, Blue Jays and Red Sox are all within a game of each other as they compete for the two AL Wild Cards.

As for their crosstown rivals, the Mets are hovering around .500, clawing for the second NL Wild Card.

The game had everything a baseball fan could ask for: drama, clutch hitting and a rambunctious, playoff-like atmosphere all night long. And given the 20th-anniversary commemoration of 9/11, an electric kind of unity could be felt at Citi Field.

And luckily, the gameplay did not disappoint.

Giancarlo Stanton kicked things off for the Yankees in the bottom of the first inning, shooting a laser of a double to right-center to bring home DJ Lemahieu with the first run of the evening.

After a sac-fly by Joey Gallo extended the Yankee lead to 2-0, the Mets responded in the bottom half of the inning with an RBI single slapped by Michael Conforto.

In the bottom of the second inning, the player of the game Lindor roped a three-run shot over the wall in right field to put the Mets up 4-2.

After a James McCann sac-fly pushed the Met lead 5-2, the Yanks retaliated in the top of the sixth with a two-run home run launched by Gleyber Torres.

The fireworks truly began from this point on.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Lindor belted his second homer of the game, a 438-foot bomb to center field off of Wandy Peralta. While rounding second base, he delivered a whistling gesture while chirping at the Yankee dugout and Peralta.

During the postgame press conference, the shortstop justified that the trash talk was in response to Peralta’s whistling from the dugout, which Lindor interpreted as a tactic to steal signs.

“Over the past couple days — I can’t accuse them of whistling for the signs because I’m not 100 percent [sure],” Lindor said. “But I know what I heard. I felt like there was something out of the ordinary going on. I heard what I heard. I’m not accusing them. I’m not saying I heard them doing it 100 percent, because I don’t know 100 percent. But it definitely felt that way and I took that personally.”

This whistling gesture was not lost on the Yankees, particularly Stanton.

With two outs in the seventh, the Yankee outfielder pummeled a two-run missile over the left-center field wall to tie the game. While rounding the bases, Stanton began quarreling with Lindor, which prompted the benches to clear.

Lindor had the last laugh, however. In the bottom of the 8th inning, the four-time All-Star knocked a dramatic, solo moonshot off of Chad Green to break a 6-6 tie and send Citi Field into a frenzy.

Mets closer Edwin Diaz finished the game out for the Amazins, inducing a jam shot by Stanton into short left field that was caught by Lindor for the final out, a fitting ending to what will be remembered as a Subway Series classic.

Article by Alex Sherman