Francisco Lindor’s walk-off homer against Ryan Fernandez led the New York Mets to a thrilling 5-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Citi Field on Friday night.
Lindor capitalized on a mistake by Fernandez, who left a cutter hanging in the strike zone, allowing Lindor to launch it for his first walk-off homer as a Met and the 250th of his career. This crucial win helped the Mets maintain their one-game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East.
St. Louis managed to tie the game in the ninth inning when Brendan Donovan smashed a homer off Huascar Brazobán. However, Brazobán bounced back by striking out the next three batters, setting the stage for Lindor’s heroics.
The Cardinals initially took a 2-0 lead with a Pedro Pagés RBI single in the second inning and Jordan Walker adding another run in the fourth. The Mets fought back and leveled the score in the fifth with Tyrone Taylor hitting a run-scoring triple and Juan Soto bringing him home with a single.
Both teams exchanged runs in the sixth inning, with Nolan Arenado driving in a run for St. Louis and Mark Vientos hitting a solo homer to tie the game at 3-3. The Mets pulled ahead in the eighth thanks to an RBI double from Luis Torrens after Brandon Nimmo reached base on a fielder’s choice.
Starting pitchers David Peterson and Miles Mikolas both struggled on the mound. Peterson gave up three runs on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings, while Mikolas allowed two runs and five hits in 4 2/3 innings. Brazobán earned the win, while Fernandez was charged with the loss.
A loss could have cost the Mets their first-place position in the division, as the Phillies secured a 7-2 victory over the Miami Marlins earlier in the evening. However, the Mets’ triumph improved their record to 13-7, maintaining their one-game lead over the Phillies at 12-8.
In the upcoming game on Saturday, Kodai Senga (2-1, 1.06 ERA) will take the mound for the Mets, facing off against Matthew Liberatore (1-1, 3.93 ERA) for the Cardinals. The game is set to begin at 4:05 p.m. ET.