Francisco Lindor Reaches Career Milestone with Walk-Off Homer

Francisco Lindor was scuffling at the plate Friday night leading up to the bottom of the ninth.

He had flied out twice to left field, once to right, and grounded out in the seventh inning, leaving the tying run in scoring position with the Mets trailing 2-1.

It had been a struggle. But with one swing, the shortstop won the game, and saved the club from a potential extra innings nightmare.

Lindor ripped a 1-1 cutter from Fernandez into the Coca-Cola corner at 108.8 miles per hour, sending a packed Citi Field into a frenzy. They had been singing My Girl by the Temptations all night, and were finally rewarded for it.

It made up for the 0-for-4 night. It saved Huascar Brazobán from his blown save in the top half of the ninth. And it solidified a tie at the least with the Cardinals in this four-game homestand.

“Even though we lost the lead there in the ninth, you feel good about your chances with what’s coming up that inning,” Mendoza said on Lindor coming up in the ninth. “This group man, they never give up, they’re never out of a game. As soon as they got back in the dugout, they were like ‘alright, let’s do it right here.'”

The homer marked Lindor’s second walk-off moment in the early 2025 season. The first came against the Blue Jays with a sac-fly, a less dramatic fashion. Friday was his third overall walk-off RBI as a Met.

“There’s a lot that defines him,” said Carlos Mendoza after the game. “Not only moments like this. As soon as he gets to the ballpark, he’s impacting people in a positive way. I’m glad I have him.”

LINDOR GOES UPPER TANK TO SEND THE METS HOME WINNERS!pic.twitter.com/RLo5CLLKnP

— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) April 19, 2025

Not only was the homer special in regards to winning the game. But it was Lindor’s 250th career home run, joining Cal Ripken Jr., Derek Jeter, Miguel Tejada, and Hanley Ramirez (at least 60% of games played at shortstop) to reach the milestone.

“It’s a great number, it’s a number I never thought I was going to get to,” Lindor said on the milestone. “As a little kid I just wanted to play baseball on TV so my mom and dad could watch me. It’s really cool, it’s really cool.”

Thanks to Lindor, the Mets will have the chance to take the series against the Cardinals Saturday. The shortstop is quietly having a dominant April, slashing .308/.365/.462 with two homers and seven RBIs.

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