Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
The concept of interleague play has been diluted over time. The Subway Series was no different. The initial and inevitable hype generated by a regular season Mets-Yankees match-up went down in recent years despite it having meaning to some fans. When both teams are playing at a high level it usually rises to the occasion too. The three games at Citi Field last season felt like the old days—infused with intensity and drama and proof that these games can be important to the players as much as the public.
There was certainly plenty of emotion left over from the previous night, the teams played on the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. The Yankees’ 8-7 victory countered the Mets’ rout in the opener.
That set the stage for Francisco Lindor‘s signature Mets moment. For all the struggles that occurred during his initial season in Queens, the three-homer night under New York’s baseball spotlight may be looked back on as the turning point.
The last came in the eighth inning and was the exclamation point in a dramatic 7-6 win which rekindled both the tension and combativeness. Lindor sparked the fire during the weekend by claiming he and other Mets were made known of Yankees whistling from the dugout when Taijuan Walker and others were tipping pitches.
Lindor turned a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the second with a drive that landed in the bullpen. After his sixth-inning blast increased the Mets advantage, he made a whistling gesture towards his opponents as he rounded the bases.
Giancarlo Stanton answered with a game-tying moonshot in the seventh inning and jawed back as he made his way around second. Lindor responded (along with Javy Báez) in the immediate aftermath which led to a bench-clearing but nothing else.
He responded with action in the bottom of the eighth: a drive to deep right field that put his team in front for good.
After being traded to the Mets in January and subsequently signing a 10-year, $341 million contract extension, Lindor had a lot to live up to from the jump. A deep spring slump in the 2021 season certainly didn’t generate a great first impression. But for fans who yearn for bragging rights over their cross-town rivals, having a star player who not only stands up to the Yankees but can back it up went a long way toward Francisco Lindor earning the respect he has long deserved.
The post OTD 2021: Lindor Homers Three Times in Subway Series Finale first appeared on Metsmerized Online.
