Before Juan Soto took the spotlight, it was Francisco Lindor who made an impact.
With the bases loaded and one out in the ninth inning, Soto stepped up and delivered a sacrifice fly, allowing Luisangel Acuña to score, leading the Mets to a 3-2 victory on Saturday afternoon in the Bronx.
In the bottom of the ninth, Edwin Diaz faced pinch hitters Austin Wells, Ben Rice, and Aaron Judge, effectively shutting them down.
In front of a packed crowd of 47,510, Diaz struck out Judge with a blazing 99 mph fastball to conclude an intense game.
Fernando Cruz found himself in a tough spot in the ninth, walking Luis Torrence, who was then replaced by Acuña as a pinch runner.
Brett Batty followed up with a ground ball toward DJ LeMahieu. LeMahieu managed to stop it while diving but couldn’t make the play to get the out.
Cruz then plunked the ninth batter, Tyrone Taylor, with a sinker, loading the bases for Lindor.
With the late-game excitement, all eyes are now on Sunday night’s rubber match featuring Max Fried against David Peterson.
