NEW YORK (AP) — Francisco Lindor hit a grand slam in the sixth inning, his latest clutch swing in a storybook season full of them, and the New York Mets reached the National League Championship Series with a 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday.

Edwin Díaz struck out Kyle Schwarber with two runners to end it in New York finished off the rival Phillies in Game 4 of their best-of-five Division Series, winning 3-1 to complete a postseason series at home for the first time in 24 years.

“I want to win everything. And our team will be a team that will be remembered forever,” Lindor said, speaking in the interview room with one of his young daughters on his lap, drinking from a Gatorade bottle.

“This will be a team that comes every ten years and eats for free everywhere. And I want to do that. I want to do that. But the job is not done yet.”

With tears in his eyes, outfielder Brandon Nimmo hugged Lindor as the Mets excitedly streamed onto the field after the final out.

Then, in a raucous locker room, they enjoyed the team’s first champagne-soaked clinching celebration in Citi Field’s 16-season history. The last time the Mets won a playoff series in their home ballpark was the 2000 NLCS at Shea Stadium.

“This is the kind of thing I dreamed about,” Nimmo said in a clubhouse interview shown on the giant video board in the center. “This has taken a long time. We wanted it so bad for our fan base.”

After a third thrilling victory in ten days and then some rest, New York opens the best-of-seven NLCS on Sunday at the San Diego Padres or Los Angeles Dodgers. These teams are tied for second place heading into the decisive Game 5 of their NLDS on Friday in Los Angeles.

“Let’s keep this thing running!” Mets slugger Pete Alonso told the reveling fans still in the stands as he left the clubhouse party for an on-field interview with large glasses shielding his eyes. “So proud of this group. We have overcome so much.”

New York is chasing its third World Series title and first since 1986.

“I want to defeat the negative perceptions of Met fans, and we are on our way to doing that,” owner Steve Cohen said.

For the NL East champion Phillies, who won 95 games and finished ahead of the wild-card Mets six times during the regular season, it was an acrimonious exit early in the playoffs and a disappointing step back after they advanced to the 2022 World Series and then lost Games 6 and 7 of the 2023 NLCS at home to Arizona.

After falling short again in October, Bryce Harper and the Phillies are still looking for the franchise’s third championship.

“We really have a great group. We got beaten in a close series,” said manager Rob Thomson.

Perhaps overprotective at the plate with so much on the table, the Mets left the bases loaded in the first and second inning against Ranger Suárez and stranded eight runners in the first five innings.

They put three runners on again in the sixth, this time with no one out, before No. 9 hitter Francisco Alvarez hit the plate against All-Star reliever Jeff Hoffman, who had warmed up three times before coming in.

With the season on the line, Thomson then called up Carlos Estévez to face Lindor, who drove a 2-1 100-mph fastball into Philadelphia’s bullpen in right-center, giving New York a 4 -1 lead and the sold-out crowd of 44,103 went into a frenzied, bouncing, throbbing frenzy.

“I knew right away,” Estévez said. “I knew I wanted to get a little higher up the field. Unfortunately, it looked more like middle ground instead of up and down, and as soon as he hit the ball I knew he hit the ball really well.”

With his first homer of these playoffs, Lindor joined Shane Victorino and Hall of Fame slugger Jim Thome as the only Major League players with two postseason grand slams. The star shortstop also connected for Cleveland at Yankee Stadium in Game 2 of a 2017 AL Division Series.

Edgardo Alfonzo hit the only other postseason slam in Mets history, during a 1999 Division Series in Arizona. Robin Ventura’s grand slam single that year does not count in the NLCS.

“We had runners and we couldn’t come up with a big hit until who else? The MVP. I keep saying you could write a book. You could make a movie because this is it right here,” Mets rookie manager Carlos Mendoza said.

“And then, the whole time the inning is playing out, Lindor is going to do it again. There is no panic. The way he controls emotions and hits the ball. It’s incredible.”

Fans chanted “MVP! MVP!” when Lindor disappeared into the dugout and again when he took his defensive position in the seventh.

Game 3 on Tuesday was Lindor’s first chance to play at Citi Field since Sept. 8 after missing time due to a back injury.

But few, if any, players have been like that valuable to their team this year as Lindor, who has delivered a remarkable string of big hits and crucial contributions as the Mets rebounded from a 24-35 start to their first NLCS since losing the 2015 World Series to Kansas City.

His game-tying home run in the ninth inning on September 11 in Toronto broke Bowden Francis’ no-hit bid and led to a critical Mets victory, and his go-ahead home run in the ninth on September 30 in Atlanta secured a spot in the play-offs.

“It just keeps getting better and better,” Cohen said. “In that situation, he comes through time and time again.”

Lindor also battled back from a 1-2 count to belt an eight-pitch walk to lead off the ninth against All-Star closer Devin Williams last week in Milwaukee, helping set up Alonso’s go-ahead homer that saved New York’s season in the Wild Card Series clincher.

“It has been an uphill battle. It was tough. But we are still not where we want to be,” Lindor said. “This road has been, yes, it has been winding, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Mets starter Jose Quintana didn’t allow an earned run in five-plus innings of two-hit ball, and David Peterson pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings for the win.

Díaz walked his first two batters in the ninth, drawing groans from the stands, but retired the next three batters (two on strikeouts) for the first postseason save of his career.

The Phillies stopped all series at the plate except for a late comeback to win Game 2 at home, scoring their lone run on an error by third baseman Mark Vientos in the fourth.

Hoffman picked up his second loss, the latest flop from a Philadelphia bullpen that failed to produce results throughout the series.

“Some of it is execution, maybe it’s also familiarity with our guys,” Thomson said. “I don’t know. It should work both ways though.”

NEXT

New York went 5-2 against the Padres and 2-4 against the Dodgers this season.

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