ATLANTA — Francisco Lindor gave a number of talks Monday.
Words were needed after Edwin Diaz blew a three-run lead in chaotic conditions in the bottom of the eighth inning of the opener of a doubleheader.
The Braves scored four points in the frame and quickly extended their lead, completing a stunning comeback with just three outs left.
Lindor remembers repeating one word in the dugout before the ninth game.
“Keep fighting. Just fight. Fight. Fight. Fight,” Lindor later said. “We have to play 27 outs.”
After 27 outs, the Mets' unofficial captain gave a clubhouse speech in a victory that forced him to postpone the celebration and play nine more innings.
According to Tyler Megill, Lindor told his teammates to “keep fighting.” “That’s all we’ve been doing all year.”
The words of an MVP candidate who carried the team on his shoulders throughout the season until his back hurt, and now, after overcoming the pain, are carrying the team on his shoulders again are important.
But what was bigger than that was his swing.
Of course it was Lindor.
Of course, it was the face and mouth of the team that stepped up to bat in the 9th inning with a one-run lead and turned the lead into a one-run lead.
Of course, Lindor, who suffers from back pain from bending over, took a low breaking ball from Pierce Johnson and hit a two-run homer over the center field wall at Trust Park, giving the Mets the win. He sent his teammates into hysteria in the postseason.
The Mets spilled out of the dugout.
Mark Vientos waved a towel.
Jesse Winker asked for an air slap.
Celebrating Starling Marte, who had hit a single one at-bat earlier, was nearly lapped on the basepaths.
A stoic Lindor was seen in the emotional scene.
He wasn't sure if the ball would reach him, but he ran hard out of the box.
He watched as it climbed over the wall and took away Michael Harris II's glove. When I told him to “smile,” he didn't crack up or slow his stride.
He kept running, and the effort to get ready for these games almost overwhelmed the joy that swing like that gave him.
“My back hurts. I'm tired,” Lindor said of his modest response. “I know how good Atlanta is.”
Despite underperforming in the first game of the doubleheader, the Mets ultimately held on to their lead and earned an eventful 8-7 victory over the Braves, sending the team into the postseason.
The Mets' best players played similarly in their biggest games.
He played nine innings as a shortstop through pain that forced him to sit out eight consecutive games.
He hit an RBI single in the eighth inning as part of a six-run comeback.
He saw Diaz go down, got his team through the collapse, and quickly took the game back.
Lindor was looking for something beyond the plate and got it, hitting his 33rd and final home run of the season. This gave the Mets a breather and they could finally sit back and rest up for Game 2.
Shohei Ohtani may have secured the National League MVP, but there's no question who the Mets' MVP is on and off the field.
“His leadership is unreal,” Megill said. “We will follow him.”
