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Francisco Lindor and Giancarlo Stanton turned standard home run trots into whistle stop tours and that made the 2021 Subway Series Finale as confrontational on the pitch as it normally is in the stands.
One night after players on both sides symbolized unity on the 20th anniversary of 9/11 by entwining themselves on the back lines of the national anthem, they again scattered across the pitch at the start. seventh inning Sunday. There was no fraternity in mind this time.
Lindor said in a three-home, five-run second run on Saturday, it was his perception (and that of the other Mets) that the Yankees dugout deciphered Taijuan Walker’s throws and transmitted the signals via a whistle system. .
“I’m not saying 100%, but I felt like something was going on,” Lindor said.
So when Lindor hit his second home run of Sunday’s game, a solo shot in the sixth to increase the Mets lead to 6-4, he did a chatty navigation from the bases, at one point making a whistling pantomime towards his friend, Gleyber Torres. .
In response, when Stanton hit a two-run homer in the seventh to tie the score 6-6, he stopped in front of Lindor. The Mets shortstop’s perception was that Stanton was “not in a combative manner” and Lindor should be “more subtle” if he tries to make a point to the other team.
But it did not serve as advice or a speech of peace. Instead, the Yankees dugout and, in particular, Lindor and Javy Baez started chirping towards each other. And that fueled the tensions. The canoes and the lifters’ pens emptied, pouring into the infield. No punches were thrown – although Brett Gardner waved two thumbs towards Lindor and Baez.
But the last laugh – and the launch – belonged to Lindor. His third home run of the game, against Chad Green with a strikeout in the eighth, broke the tie and secured a 7-6 victory at the Met. The most booed Met of 2021 was now providing a standing ovation and, ultimately, a encore.
“I was booed for a really long time so it felt good,” Lindor said.
That Subway series ended with two of three wins for the Mets, as did New York, New York’s first series this year. But it also ended with both teams out of position in the playoffs. The Yankees aren’t at least tied for the second wild card for the first time since August 16.
The Mets are five games away in the NL East and three for the second wild card. But maybe the Mets are Lindor and Lindor is the Mets – better late than never.
Despite everything that has gone negatively with Lindor since the exhilarating moment he signed his 10-year, $ 341 million extension from the Mets, he still has enough season to – at a minimum – change the ending. He now has six home runs in September, second in the majors.
The blessing of the Mets is that the race for the second wild card is made up of a group much like the Mets – apparently all trying not to win it. The Padres lead the group, although they have only won eight of their last 27 games. The Reds are next, although they have only won six of their last 18.
The other two teams between the Mets and the top of the standings are the Cardinals and the Phillies, and those represent the next six games on the Mets’ schedule. So at least the Mets have the opportunity to do something to impact the race.
That’s a lot of teams to get over in a short period of time – the Mets have 18 more games to go. But it becomes more doable if Lindor is going to play like the player the Mets thought they would acquire and pay for in the 2030s.
Each of Lindor’s home runs was an uppercut to the Yankees. Torres, the Yankees shortstop, made a mistake to lengthen the second inning. This allowed Lindor to reach the plate with two starters and two exits. Lindor hit Clarke Schmidt to give the Mets a 4-2 lead.
His sixth inning homer against Wandy Peralta – the only one he touched on the right side – prompted his whistle that began to escalate hostilities between the New York teams. And his two-point shot on Green – a home run he admitted he was trying to hit – decided the game.
But this drama game had more. Stanton came up with two on and two in the ninth and – rightly so – he came out. In Lindor. To complete the game.
The Mets won. They’re back at .500 (72-72). They are not yet dead. Maybe because Lindor might just come to life.
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