NEW YORK: The New York Mets, fueled by Francisco Lindor’s grand slam, beat Philadelphia to advance in the Major League Baseball playoffs on Wednesday as the Los Angeles Dodgers stayed alive with an 8-0 victory over San Diego.
The Mets beat the Phillies 4-1 to complete a 3-1 triumph in their best-of-five National League division series, their latest come-from-behind victory sending them into the NL Championship Series against either the Dodgers or Padres.
The Dodgers, down 1-2 and facing elimination in San Diego, were fueled by homers from Mookie Betts, Will Smith and Gavin Lux as they forced a decisive Game 5 in Los Angeles on Friday.
Betts got things started, staking Los Angeles to a 1-0 lead with a first-inning homer that sailed into the Padres bullpen in left center field.
Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani drove in a run with a two-out single in the second, chasing San Diego starting pitcher Dylan Cease. Betts then smacked a run-scoring single off reliever Bryan Hoeing.
Smith piled on in the third with a two-run home run off Hoeing, who had given up a lead-off double to Max Muncy, and the Dodgers led 5-0 through three innings.
Muncy scored again on Tommy Edman’s sacrifice fly in the seventh and Gavin Lux jumped on the first pitch from Padres reliever Wandy Peralta to push the score to 8-0.
Dodgers starting pitcher Ryan Brasier and seven relievers combined to keep San Diego’s potent offense in check.
In New York, the Mets had left the bases loaded in both the first and second innings as Philadelphia starting pitcher Ranger Suarez kept them scoreless through 4 1/3 gritty innings.
New York trailed 1-0 and had loaded the bases again with no outs in the sixth when Lindor came to the plate against Phillies reliever Carlos Estevez.
Lindor punched a 99 mph fastball 398 feet over the wall in center field, scoring Starling Marte, Tyrone Taylor and Francisco Alvarez.
“I was just trying to get a good pitch to hit and bring one run in and it worked out and went over the fence,” Lindor told Fox television. “I wasn’t trying to be the guy.
“I was just trying to keep the momentum that the guys had,” added Lindor after the Mets booked their first NLCS appearance since 2015.
The New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers edged closer to advancing in the American League.
Giancarlo Stanton hit a game-winning solo home run in the eighth inning to lift the Yankees to a 3-2 victory over the Royals in Kansas City for a 2-1 lead in their AL division series.
Stanton drove in the game’s first run with a double in the fourth inning. The Yankees took a 2-0 lead on Juan Soto’s sacrifice fly in the fifth, but the Royals tied it up in the bottom of the frame.
Cue Stanton, who belted a pitch from left-handed reliever Kris Bubic 417 feet to put the Yankees back in front.
“This is what I came here for,” Stanton said of his 12th career post-season homer. “You’re not always going to be successful, but (you’ve) just got to keep working and put yourself in the best opportunity.
The Yankees will try to close out their series on Thursday, when the Tigers will try to eliminate the Cleveland Guardians.
“We need to wrap it up tomorrow, no wiggle room, and we’ve got to get it done,” said Stanton, who finished with three hits, drove in two runs and stole a base.
In Detroit, Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson drove in runs for the Tigers in a 3-0 home victory over the Guardians that put the Tigers up 2-1 in their series.
The Tigers, who missed the playoffs the past nine years, played their first post-season home game since 2014 before a record crowd of 44,885.
They opened the scoring in the first inning when Parker Meadows singled then scored on Green’s single.
Rogers delivered a double in the third and scored on Matt Vierling’s sacrifice fly and Torkelson doubled in a run in the sixth.
