MIAMI — Trust the process. Turn the page. Do it together. Enjoy the ride.
Those were some of a handful of clichés that Francisco Lindor used after the Mets’ series-opening loss on Friday in Miami. Lindor’s main message was that whenever the Mets claw their way out of their skid, they will do it together.
Less than 24 hours later, the Mets proved Lindor’s words true, as the Mets brought 12 batters to the plate in an eight-run fourth inning en route to an 11-3 win over the Marlins on Saturday night at loanDepot park. The offensive outburst was much-needed for a club in the middle of an intensified battle for the NL East title, vaulting the Mets half a game ahead of the Braves.
“I don’t think we need to shy away from the fact that this is high-pressure baseball,” Mark Canha said. “We’re fighting to win the division each and every day, and it’s kind of like the playoffs. It kind of feels like the playoffs start early for us, and we need to embrace it.”
The Mets sure embraced the pressure in the fourth, when they had nine batters reach base and knocked Pablo López out of the game. It marked the first inning of eight-plus runs New York has produced this season — although the Mets did have a trio of seven-run innings (May 5, May 24 and June 17). It was also New York’s highest-scoring inning since July 9, 2021, against the Pirates.
“It’s a good lineup,” López said. “They make you have different plans. Before the game, we try to create a plan, but they’re showing you that they’re adjusting to a plan. They make you move on to the next one. … They make you work, they work at-bats, they work the counts. If they pick up on something — whether it’s a pattern, whether I’m sticking to one side of the plate — they make adjustments.”
Canha’s first career grand slam sailed into the Marlins’ bullpen in left field, capping the big inning that began with his leadoff walk. But Canha didn’t think his slam was the most important hit of the inning, or even of the game. He credited Eduardo Escobar with that title.
“That was kind of a big blow,” Canha said. “A grand slam’s cool and all, but I feel like what Eduardo has been doing for us lately is a lot bigger and kind of more important to today’s win than what I did. … He really jump-started us there.”
With Canha on second and Daniel Vogelbach on first, Escobar roped a 95.5 mph four-seamer over the head of right fielder Brian Anderson for a double. It was the first pitch of his at-bat, after he had also singled in the second inning.
Escobar missed an 11-game stretch in August while on the IL with a left oblique strain. But that time recovering and rehabbing helped him address some bad habits with his swing — specifically how he was more crouched down in the box, rather than standing up straight. As a result, he’s seeing pitches better. And with a healthy oblique, Escobar has more confidence in his swing.
“Sometimes when you’re falling into certain patterns, you’re not necessarily realizing it until you go back and look at the video,” Escobar said. “So it got to the point where it felt like it was kind of spiraling out of control, but I was able to kind of readjust by watching video and going out there.”
The new swing is working. Including his 3-for-5 game in which he finished a triple shy of the cycle, Escobar is on an eight-game hitting streak and is slashing .452/.486/.871 in 31 September at-bats. Having his bat at the bottom of the lineup — or really anywhere in the lineup — has been huge for the Mets, especially as the postseason draws near and the pressure builds.
Like Escobar, Lindor also finished a triple shy of the cycle.
But all that hitting would have been for naught without a quality start from Carlos Carrasco. In his second start since coming off the IL, Carrasco allowed just one run on four hits with no walks and six strikeouts over six innings. To manager Buck Showalter, it was the righty’s efficient performance that was the most impressive.
“The key was the way Carlos kept attacking people and going back out there,” Showalter said. “When pitchers make runs matter and leads matter, it creates a good atmosphere.”
Now the Mets will do what they do best — or at least, try to do best. They’ll turn the page and start Sunday’s finale fresh, as if the rout never happened.
“Now we got to flush today, turn the page and come back tomorrow and try to do it [again],” Lindor said.
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