Francisco Lindor homered in the New York Mets’ 7-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers, effectively halting the Dodgers’ record-tying postseason scoreless streak. This win tied the National League Championship Series at one game each.
Lindor’s impressive season continued with a leadoff homer in the first inning off pitcher Ryan Brasier. Mark Vientos also made a significant impact, hitting a grand slam during a five-run second inning against Landon Knack.
Before Lindor’s blast, the Dodgers had gone 33 consecutive innings without scoring in the postseason. Jack Flaherty had led Los Angeles to a dominant 9-0 win in Game 1 of the NLCS the previous night.
Sean Manaea started Game 2 for New York, throwing four shutout innings before allowing three runs, two of which were earned, over five-plus innings. Closer Edwin Diaz secured a four-out save to preserve the lead.
In a surprising turn, Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani finished the game 0 for 3 with two strikeouts and two walks, remaining hitless with the bases empty in his first postseason.
The series now shifts to New York for Game 3 on Wednesday, with both teams eager to gain the upper hand.
After a disappointing start to the series, the Mets quickly turned the tide against the Dodgers.
Lindor demonstrated his determination by fouling off four consecutive pitches from Brasier before launching a 395-foot homer to right field.
Knack entered the game in the second inning and struggled, giving up a leadoff single to Starling Marte and walking Jesse Winker. Tyrone Taylor later doubled to left, bringing Marte home.
With the bases loaded after Francisco Alvarez popped out, Lindor was intentionally walked, setting the stage for Vientos. He responded with a 391-foot grand slam to center, marking the third grand slam in Mets playoff history and pushing the lead to 6-0, much to the dismay of the sellout crowd of 52,926.
This grand slam was the Mets’ second of the playoffs, following Lindor’s go-ahead slam in Game 4 of the NL Division Series against Philadelphia. Edgardo Alfonzo was the first to hit a playoff grand slam for the franchise back in 1999.
The Dodgers found themselves with the potential tying run at the plate during the eighth inning.
Tommy Edman singled and Max Muncy walked, prompting the Mets to call on Diaz. The Dodgers executed a double steal, but Kiké Hernández’s shallow fly ball ended the threat.
After Muncy homered to start the fifth inning, the Dodgers made a push in the sixth, narrowing the gap to 6-3 and reviving the crowd’s energy.
Manaea struggled in the sixth, issuing walks to Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernández. Freddie Freeman’s grounder resulted in a fielder’s choice that led to an error by Jose Iglesias, allowing Hernández to reach second safely.
Edman then singled off Phil Maton, scoring both Betts and Hernández. Muncy walked again, loading the bases for Kiké Hernández.
Hernández grounded the ball to Vientos, who bobbled it but recovered to throw to second, where Muncy slid into Iglesias. Pete Alonso managed to keep his foot on the bag, securing the double play.
The Dodgers challenged the double-play ruling, but it was upheld, ending the inning.
In the ninth inning, the Mets capitalized on a hard-throwing rookie, Edgardo Henriquez, to add an insurance run.
