Carlos Mendoza’s matter-of-fact declaration that the Mets’ final homestand of the 2024 regular season would not be their last games of the year at Citi Field turned out to be spot on.
Of course, his team had to leap through multiple hoops doused in gasoline and lit on fire to fulfill those prognostications, which came more than two weeks ago.
The Mets had to first clinch a playoff berth, which they did so in dizzying fashion by defeating the Braves in Atlanta in their final turn at-bat behind Francisco Lindor’s two-run home run in the penultimate game of the regular season.
They had to outlast the Milwaukee Brewers in the best-of-three Wild Card Series, doing so behind Pete Alonso’s three-run home run in the top of the ninth inning to overturn a 2-0 deficit in the winner-take-all Game 3.
To top it all off, they gained a split in their first two games against the National League’s best team, the Philadelphia Phillies, to begin the NLDS.
Finally, they return home to Citi Field after what will be a 15-day hiatus with home-field advantage in the best-of-five series with Games 3 and 4 of the NLDS taking place in Queens.
“It feels like we’ve been on the road forever,” Mendoza said. “The fact that we’re here and we have a great opportunity to not only be back… it’s exciting, it’s awesome. I can’t wait for tomorrow…. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. We had to go through a lot. Not only traveling, but playing good teams. We needed to get to the playoffs, advance, win the Wild Card. I always had faith on the guys, on the players. We continued to believe. We took it one day at a time, one series at a time, and that’s what we’ll continue to do. Here we are, back at Citi Field with a tremendous opportunity to win a series and keep going.”
Tuesday evening will be the first NLDS game played at Citi Field since 2015, the same year the Mets won the pennant and made their first World Series appearance since 2000. To say they are going to be playing in front of a rabid fan base, which has been forced to watch this miraculous run from a far, might very well be an understatement.
“It’s going to be crazy,” Game 3 starter Sean Manaea, who was with the San Diego Padres when they defeated the Mets in three games in the 2022 NL Wild Card Series at Citi Field, said. “I was here in ’22 and it was definitely wild, for sure. This place is definitely going to be rocking. The last couple of [regular-season] games here we had were pretty amazing so I expect it to be a pretty fun atmosphere.”
The Flushing faithful will also have an opportunity to properly salute star shortstop Francisco Lindor for the brilliant 2024 season he put together — one that will likely see him finish in second place of the NL MVP voting behind Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Shohei Ohtani.
Lindor has not played at Citi Field since Sept. 8, missing the final homestand of the year after picking up a back injury in Philadelphia just five days later.
“I haven’t played here in almost a month,” Lindor said. “I’m looking forward to it, I’m excited for it… I think Mets nation is going to come in and bring a lot of energy, a lot of passion. I’m looking forward to it.”
An inhospitable environment for anything not wearing orange and blue should only bolster the Mets’ aspirations of upsetting the Phillies and should put a thrilling 7-6 loss in which they squandered leads of 3-0 and 4-3 firmly in the rearview mirror. If they can somehow win both Games 3 and 4, they not only punch their ticket to the NLCS and avoid the return trip back to Philadelphia, but they could also clinch their first postseason series in Queens since they won the pennant in 2000.
“We keep taking punches and we keep finding ways to get back up,” Mendoza said. “Whether it’s in-game, whether it’s after a tough loss. Those are the expectations. We’ll show up the next day, we’ll continue to be ourselves, we’ll continue to care about each other… and we’ll see what happens. That’s a special group. Quality players and quality people.”
First pitch for Game 3 of the NLDS is scheduled for 5:08 p.m. ET.
