Francisco Lindor hit his first Mets walk-off home run in the team’s 5-4 win over the Cardinals at CitiField on Friday night.
It is Lindor’s 250th career home run.
The Mets (13-7) have now won consecutive games after losing consecutive games for the first time this season.
Here are the takeaways…
-Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas held the Mets offense down for the first four innings, allowing just four base-runners in that span. However, the Mets’ bats woke up in the fifth with Brett Baty‘s leadoff double and Tyrone Taylor driving him home with a triple. AfterLindor’s shallow fly ball failed to bring Taylor home, the CitiField crowd gave Juan Soto a standing ovation to urge their new star to drive in the tying run. And the left-hander obliged, pulling a single into right field to tie that game at 2-2.
Soto snapped a 0-for-12 skid and finished 1-for-3 with a walk on the night.
-With the Mets down 3-2 in the sixth, Mark Vientos found the seats for the second consecutive night. He turned on the eighth pitch of the at-bat, a 95.4 mph fastball up and in, and deposited it 371 feet into the left field seats and tying the game at 3-3. According to MLB’s Sarah Langs, Vientos’ home run came on a pitch 4.14 ft above the ground, which is the third-highest pitch a Mets player has homered on in the pitch-tracking era (2008), behind:
- 8/27/17 Amed Rosario: 4.17 ft
- 9/22/20 Robinson Cano: 4.16 ft
-The bottom of the eighth was a wild one. After Vientos’ leadoff single, Luisangel Acuña pinch-ran and stole second. Brandon Nimmo hit a chopper to third base, the young infielder tried to get a jump to third but Nolan Arenado hadn’t thrown the ball to first yet and it was a foot race for third. Acuña initially beat Arenado’s tag, but Acuña slid off and the Gold Glover put the tag on to get the first out, which was confirmed by replay.
With Nimmo on first, former Met Phil Maton threw to keep the veteran outfielder on but it hit Nimmo, allowing him to get to second. Luis Torrens then made the Cardinals pay with a double down the left field line to give the Mets their first lead of the night.
-David Peterson was effective on Friday night but the Cardinals were able to use small ball to get to the talented lefty. Three singles, which were hit softly but not where fielders were, allowed the Cardinals to score the first run of the game in the second. They then pushed across another after Brendan Donovan took second on a passed ball that Torrens almost threw him out trying to swipe, but Brett Baty could not corral the ball. Jordan Walker then scorched a liner toward first base that Alonso knocked down but trickled into the outfield.
Peterson would continue to overcome this scrappy Cardinals team and rack up the Ks, but St. Louis would push their third run across thanks to a leadoff double from Willson Contreras and a single by Arenado.
Carlos Mendoza pulled Peterson with one out in the sixth and called on Max Kranick to limit the damage. And as the right-hander had done for most of the season, left ducks on the pond to keep the score 3-2.
Peterson was dominant in spurts but the Cardinals were able to string hits together in three separate innings. The left-hander went 5.1 innings on a season-high 99 pitches, allowing three runs on seven hits, no walks and striking out nine batters, tying a season-high.
-With Edwin Diaz unavailable due to pitching consecutive games, Huascar Brazoban was called to get the final three outs, but on the second pitch, Donovan launched a game-tying homer off the netting on the right-field foul pole. Brazoban bounced back, striking out the next three batters to send it to the bottom of the ninth still tied.
-Baty continued to look good at the plate, picking up his first walk of the season in his first at-bat, then swiping second for the third stolen base of his career. He doubled in his second at-bat, and finished 1-for-3 with the walk and a run scored.
Baty now has a five-game hitting streak.
-Nimmo hit in the No. 6 hole on Friday, the lowest he’s been in the lineup since 2021. He looked good too, despite his 1-for-4 night.
-After going hitless in Thursday’s series-opener — his last hitless game came on April 13 — Pete Alonso got on the board with a first-inning triple. It’s the first triple for Alonso since 2023. The slugger went 1-for-2 with two walks.
Game MVP: Francisco Lindor
In a back-and-forth affair, Lindor’s walk-off sent the crowd home happy and is the logical choice.
Highlights
David Peterson ties a season-high with his 9th strikeout of the night! pic.twitter.com/NVmHoYQm8Z
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 19, 2025
JUAN SOTO COMES THROUGH!
The game is tied in the 5th! pic.twitter.com/8kkQCgskca
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 19, 2025
Max Kranick gets out of trouble in the 6th ⛽ pic.twitter.com/hRozoELHZd
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 19, 2025
MARK VIENTOS’ SECOND HOMER IN AS MANY NIGHTS TIES THE GAME AT 3! pic.twitter.com/pCkay5BVCw
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 19, 2025
LUIS TORRENS GIVES THE METS THE LEAD WITH AN RBI DOUBLE! pic.twitter.com/jqZnIDvpGz
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 19, 2025
LINDOR WITH A SWING AND A DRIVE!!!!!
METS WIN 5-4!!!!! pic.twitter.com/ztsy7w2S0U
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 19, 2025
What’s next
The Mets and Cardinals continue their four-game set with an afternoon tilt on Saturday. First pitch is set for 4:05 p.m.
Kodai Senga (2-1, 1.06 ERA) will take the mound against Matthew Liberatore (1-1, 3.93 ERA) of the Cardinals.
Francisco Lindor hit his first Mets walk-off home run in the team’s 5-4 win over the Cardinals at CitiField on Friday night.
It is Lindor’s 250th career home run.
The Mets (13-7) have now won consecutive games after losing consecutive games for the first time this season.
Here are the takeaways…
-Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas held the Mets offense down for the first four innings, allowing just four base-runners in that span. However, the Mets’ bats woke up in the fifth with Brett Baty‘s leadoff double and Tyrone Taylor driving him home with a triple. AfterLindor’s shallow fly ball failed to bring Taylor home, the CitiField crowd gave Juan Soto a standing ovation to urge their new star to drive in the tying run. And the left-hander obliged, pulling a single into right field to tie that game at 2-2.
Soto snapped a 0-for-12 skid and finished 1-for-3 with a walk on the night.
-With the Mets down 3-2 in the sixth, Mark Vientos found the seats for the second consecutive night. He turned on the eighth pitch of the at-bat, a 95.4 mph fastball up and in, and deposited it 371 feet into the left field seats and tying the game at 3-3. According to MLB’s Sarah Langs, Vientos’ home run came on a pitch 4.14 ft above the ground, which is the third-highest pitch a Mets player has homered on in the pitch-tracking era (2008), behind:
- 8/27/17 Amed Rosario: 4.17 ft
- 9/22/20 Robinson Cano: 4.16 ft
-The bottom of the eighth was a wild one. After Vientos’ leadoff single, Luisangel Acuña pinch-ran and stole second. Brandon Nimmo hit a chopper to third base, the young infielder tried to get a jump to third but Nolan Arenado hadn’t thrown the ball to first yet and it was a foot race for third. Acuña initially beat Arenado’s tag, but Acuña slid off and the Gold Glover put the tag on to get the first out, which was confirmed by replay.
With Nimmo on first, former Met Phil Maton threw to keep the veteran outfielder on but it hit Nimmo, allowing him to get to second. Luis Torrens then made the Cardinals pay with a double down the left field line to give the Mets their first lead of the night.
-David Peterson was effective on Friday night but the Cardinals were able to use small ball to get to the talented lefty. Three singles, which were hit softly but not where fielders were, allowed the Cardinals to score the first run of the game in the second. They then pushed across another after Brendan Donovan took second on a passed ball that Torrens almost threw him out trying to swipe, but Brett Baty could not corral the ball. Jordan Walker then scorched a liner toward first base that Alonso knocked down but trickled into the outfield.
Peterson would continue to overcome this scrappy Cardinals team and rack up the Ks, but St. Louis would push their third run across thanks to a leadoff double from Willson Contreras and a single by Arenado.
Carlos Mendoza pulled Peterson with one out in the sixth and called on Max Kranick to limit the damage. And as the right-hander had done for most of the season, left ducks on the pond to keep the score 3-2.
Peterson was dominant in spurts but the Cardinals were able to string hits together in three separate innings. The left-hander went 5.1 innings on a season-high 99 pitches, allowing three runs on seven hits, no walks and striking out nine batters, tying a season-high.
-With Edwin Diaz unavailable due to pitching consecutive games, Huascar Brazoban was called to get the final three outs, but on the second pitch, Donovan launched a game-tying homer off the netting on the right-field foul pole. Brazoban bounced back, striking out the next three batters to send it to the bottom of the ninth still tied.
-Baty continued to look good at the plate, picking up his first walk of the season in his first at-bat, then swiping second for the third stolen base of his career. He doubled in his second at-bat, and finished 1-for-3 with the walk and a run scored.
Baty now has a five-game hitting streak.
-Nimmo hit in the No. 6 hole on Friday, the lowest he’s been in the lineup since 2021. He looked good too, despite his 1-for-4 night.
-After going hitless in Thursday’s series-opener — his last hitless game came on April 13 — Pete Alonso got on the board with a first-inning triple. It’s the first triple for Alonso since 2023. The slugger went 1-for-2 with two walks.
Game MVP: Francisco Lindor
In a back-and-forth affair, Lindor’s walk-off sent the crowd home happy and is the logical choice.
Highlights
David Peterson ties a season-high with his 9th strikeout of the night! pic.twitter.com/NVmHoYQm8Z
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 19, 2025
JUAN SOTO COMES THROUGH!
The game is tied in the 5th! pic.twitter.com/8kkQCgskca
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 19, 2025
Max Kranick gets out of trouble in the 6th ⛽ pic.twitter.com/hRozoELHZd
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 19, 2025
MARK VIENTOS’ SECOND HOMER IN AS MANY NIGHTS TIES THE GAME AT 3! pic.twitter.com/pCkay5BVCw
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 19, 2025
LUIS TORRENS GIVES THE METS THE LEAD WITH AN RBI DOUBLE! pic.twitter.com/jqZnIDvpGz
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 19, 2025
LINDOR WITH A SWING AND A DRIVE!!!!!
METS WIN 5-4!!!!! pic.twitter.com/ztsy7w2S0U
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 19, 2025
What’s next
The Mets and Cardinals continue their four-game set with an afternoon tilt on Saturday. First pitch is set for 4:05 p.m.
Kodai Senga (2-1, 1.06 ERA) will take the mound against Matthew Liberatore (1-1, 3.93 ERA) of the Cardinals.