Francisco Lindor, Tylor Megill show why ‘it's a great time to be a Met'
'It's a great time to be a Met right now.'
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How often has a New York Met said that and meant it sincerely? How often has this fan base heard it and nodded as vigorously as it does in this moment?
Because Monday, like so many days early this season, reiterated the indisputability of that point. Megill threw shutout baseball into the sixth with 10 strikeouts. Francisco Lindor homered two more times to provide just enough cushion to withstand a ninth-inning rally from the Phillies. For the 10th time in 11 games at Citi Field this season, the Mets cued up 'New York Groove.'
'We've got a lot of really good players, a really good clubhouse,' Megill said. 'Everyone's pulling for each other; there's a lot of selflessness. At the end of the day, we're just trying to win one ballgame a day.'
They've done it five days in a row now, all in front of, for April, enormous crowds in Queens. The Mets drew 35,000-plus on Monday. They've drawn more than 400,000 fans in their first 11 dates — the most since Citi Field's inaugural season in 2009 and almost 150,000 more than through the same time frame last year. Those fans are juiced enough to give Juan Soto a standing ovation despite some early struggles — a little different approach in these parts from past slumping superstars, as Lindor knows.
'It's been fun coming to the ballpark,' president of baseball operations David Stearns said pregame. 'Our players have talked about that. We all feel it when we're here.'
Lindor made sure fans were on their feet early. He dropped the bat head on an Aaron Nola curveball in the first and deposited it into the second deck in right field — the second straight day he'd led off the game with a home run for New York. (Only Kaz Matsui and Curtis Granderson had ever done that for the Mets.)
Six innings later, Lindor ripped a José Ruiz fastball to right-center for a three-run homer. It landed in just about the same spot of the Philadelphia bullpen as his grand slam in Game 4 of last year's National League Division Series.
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'That was pretty similar to what happened last year,' Megill said.
Lindor was less sentimental.
'Different moment, different scenario,' he said. 'I'm in the moment.'
This is a good moment, too, for the shortstop. With four homers in the past four games, Lindor has firmly concluded any talk about slow starts for him individually. In his prior four seasons with the Mets, Lindor had hit .218 with a .697 OPS before May 1. This season, he's up to a .284 average and .840 OPS.
'When he's getting his pitches in the strike zone, he's not missing them,' manager Carlos Mendoza said.
'He looks amazing at the plate,' said Jesse Winker, who added a solo shot in the second. 'Day in and day out, he does something special.'
And about that selflessness Megill mentioned? Every Met asked about Lindor's three-run shot made sure to mention Tyrone Taylor's hustle down the line one batter earlier, to prevent an inning-ending double play.
The history from last October was the context for this first meeting of the season between the defending NL East champs and the team that directed them out of the postseason. Neither team's schedule has been what you might call robust, and so their first rendezvous doubled as a fun early test, a check-in with the rival you expect to be hanging with you down the home stretch.
And the Mets, like last October, looked well-equipped for the challenge, now and moving forward. While Megill still lacks the pitch efficiency that will permit truly dominant outings, he limited Philadelphia to a single hit over 5 1/3 innings. He struck out 10 while walking four, capitalizing on a Phillies lineup more reticent to swing than in the past. Four of those 10 punchouts were looking.
'I'm definitely more confident in my stuff,' Megill said. 'Obviously, it's been showing.'
Megill lowered his ERA to 1.09 on the season. Since returning to New York's rotation late last season, he's posted a 1.78 ERA in 11 starts. The Mets are 9-2 in those games.
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A veteran of the Syracuse shuttle, Megill is motivated to be a part of this clubhouse for all 162 this year.
'I want to be around for these guys and help them win,' he said.
The Mets were three outs away from a sixth shutout in 23 games before Philadelphia scored four in the ninth off a tiring Max Kranick and Edwin Díaz. Díaz struck out Trea Turner and Bryce Harper to seal his sixth save.
'We're doing things right right now,' Lindor said. 'We're not focused on the future. We've got to stay the course.'
(Top photo of Francisco Lindor: Elsa / Getty Images)
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