Francisco Lindor's walk-off homer plus Howie Rose's radio call is poetry

The New York Mets took game two of their series against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday, and Mets fans were thrilled to have their team back home at Citi Field. Repping the black uniforms on a Friday night, the stage was set for a big moment.

Up came Francisco Lindor. On a 1-1 pitch, Lindor crushed a home run that landed in the upper deck. “Put it in the books,” as Howie Rose said — the blast marked Lindor's first walk-off home run in a Mets uniform and his 250th career home run.

“It’s a great number. It’s a number I never thought I was going to get to,” Lindor said. This milestone breaks the tie for the fifth-most home runs as a shortstop with José Valentín.

“We had a fantastic opportunity to make something special.” Lindor said. “I knew we were going to win. I knew it was going to be a home run.”

This is Lindor’s 3rd career walk-off home run. “It felt like a fantastic team win. It felt really good,” Lindor said.

The Mets are now 7-1 at home this season with their 5-4 win over the Cardinals. After the walk-off victory, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza was asked about the kind of impact Lindor has on the team.

“He’s a special player,” Mendoza said. “Special player, special person, and he came through once again.”

From the first pitch to Lindor’s bat toss, the game carried an energy that never let up, keeping the excitement alive at Citi Field until the very end.

Early runs and strong pitching built plenty of tension at Citi Field

David Peterson took the mound for the Mets and delivered a strong performance, going 5.1 innings. Peterson showed dominance by striking out nine and giving up three hits. He allowed three runs, all of which were earned, throughout his outing.

St. Louis struck first in the top of the second inning. Brendan Donovan singled on a sharp line drive to center field, then advanced from first to third when Thomas Saggese hit a ground ball single to right field. Pedro Pagés followed and singled to right, scoring Donovan and putting the Cardinals on the board.

During the top of the fourth inning, Nolan Arenado singled on a ground ball to third, and following his at-bat, it was Donovan again who was able to get on base. Donovan grounded into a force-out, with Lindor getting Arenado out at second base on a throw from Pete Alonso. Donovan advanced to second after Peterson threw a wild pitch. Jordan Walker singled on a ground ball to right field, scoring Donovan and giving the Cardinals a 2-0 lead.

A back and forth game set the stage for Lindor's historic blast

The Mets’ bats got going during the bottom of the fifth. Brett Baty hit a double to lead off. Tyrone Taylor followed with a strong line drive to right-center field that rolled past the fielder for a triple, scoring Baty. Juan Soto singled on a ground ball to right field, scoring Taylor and tying the game 2-2.

The Cardinals kept their hot bats going. Wilson Contreras led off the top of the 6th with a line-drive double. Arenado followed with a single, driving in Contreras and giving the Cardinals a 3-2 lead.

Mark Vientos immediately answered, hitting his second home run of the season and tying the game again for the Mets, now at 3-3. This game kept a dynamic energy throughout, with both teams answering each other’s runs, and Mets fans brought the excitement to Citi Field, fueling the action.

The Mets displayed aggressive base running during the bottom of the eighth inning. Vientos singled on a line drive to left field, and Luisangel Acuña entered as the pinch runner. Acuña immediately got to work and stole second. At the plate was Brandon Nimmo, and after reaching base on a fielder’s choice, Acuña headed for third on what was an extremely close play at the bag. After the play was challenged, the call stood, and Acuña was ruled out. Luis Torrens then stepped up to the plate and crushed a double down the line, scoring Nimmo and giving the Mets the lead 4-3.

With Mets pitcher Edwin Díaz unavailable to close out the game, it was up to Huascar Brazobán to protect the Mets’ lead. Donovan led off the top of the ninth with a towering home run off the foul pole screen, tying the game at 4-4 and keeping the Cardinals alive. This shifted the momentum to the Mets, who knew that if they were going to win, it had to be in walk-off fashion.

The Mets look to secure a series victory tomorrow, with the first pitch scheduled for 4:05 p.m.