Mark Vientos smashed a grand slam and Francisco Lindor homered as well as the New York Mets beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-3 on Monday to level their Major League Baseball playoff series at one game apiece.
Vientos’s four-run blast in a determined second inning at-bat helped the Mets rebound from a 9-0 drubbing in game one on Sunday in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series.
The winner of the series will advance to face either the New York Yankees or Cleveland Guardians in the World Series.
The Yankees, fueled by home runs from Giancarlo Stanton and Juan Soto and six strong innings from starting pitcher Carlos Rodon, beat the Guardians 5-2 to open their American League Championship Series.
The Mets made an early statement when Lindor led off the game with a 395-foot home run off Dodgers hurler Ryan Brasier, ending the Dodgers pitching staff’s record-equalling streak of 33 scoreless innings.
The Dodgers hadn’t surrendered a run since the second inning of game three of their division series against the San Diego Padres.
In the second inning, Vientos got the better of Dodgers reliever Landon Knack, crushing the ninth pitch he saw — a 95 mph fastball — over the center field seats to push the Mets’ lead to 6-0.
Starling Marte had opened the inning with a single off Knack and scored on Tyrone Taylor’s double that left runners at second and third. Lindor was intentionally walked to load the bases and bring up Vientos.
The 24-year-old Vientos admitted he “took it personally” when the Dodgers walked Lindor to bring him to the plate.
– ‘In a great spot’ –
“At that point I was just, let me simplify the game, just get one run in, get a walk — whatever I can do to add another run to the score.
“Luckily I hit a bomb there and it went over the fence.”
The Mets will host the next three games on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
“I think we’re in a great spot,” Vientos said. “I like the momentum we got.”
Mets starter Sean Manaea allowed three runs, including two earned, on two hits over five innings with four walks and seven strikeouts.
Max Muncy hit a solo homer for Los Angeles in the fifth, but the Dodgers’ vaunted lineup was largely silenced. Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and two walks.
The Dodgers put up two runs in the sixth after Manaea walked Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernandez and Jose Iglesias mis-handled Freddie Freeman’s ground ball to load the bases.
Phil Manton came in for Manaea and gave up a single to Tommy Edman that scored Betts and Hernandez. The Mets added one more run in the top of the ninth.
In New York, Soto put the Yankees in front with a solo homer to lead off the third inning.
Cleveland pitcher Alex Cobb walked three of the next five batters before he was replaced by Joey Cantillo, who threw a couple of wild pitches into the dirt against the next two Yankees batters, allowing Aaron Judge and Stanton to score for a 3-0 New York lead.
The Yankees made it 4-0 in the fourth when Judge’s sacrifice fly scored Gleyber Torres.
– Stanton blast –
The Guardians pulled back a run in the sixth on Brayan Rocchio’s solo homer off Rodon, one of two hits he surrendered in six strong innings that featured nine strikeouts.
But Stanton made it 5-1 with a towering blast to left center field in the seventh.
After Cleveland’s Steven Kwan drove in a run with one out in the eighth, the Yankees turned to closing pitcher Luke Weaver, who recorded the last five outs for the save.
The Yankees, owners of 27 World Series titles, are chasing their first appearance in a World Series since they beat Philadelphia for the crown in 2009.
The Guardians are seeking their first World Series appearance since 2016 and their first title since 1948.
The stars turned out at Yankee Stadium, where pop icon Taylor Swift and her NFL star boyfriend Travis Kelce were among the celebrities in attendance.
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