Lindor’s Two Homers Lead Mets Over Rockies

It was MLB’s best home team vs. its worst road team. The team with the best earned run average (2.87) against the club with the worst (5.55). The mismatch on paper, however, played out a lot closer on the field.

The Mets (35-22) held on to beat the Colorado Rockies 4-2 on Friday night at Citi Field for their fifth win in six games. The Rockies dropped to a league-worst 9-48 and an embarrassing 3-26 on the road. The Mets are 22-7 at home.

Francisco Lindor did it with the bat and the glove, hitting two solo homers and making a leaping catch of a line drive with the bases loaded to end the third inning. It was Lindor’s 11th and 12th homers, and his lead-off shot in the first was his fifth to start a game this year. The Mets have won 25 consecutive games in which Lindor has homered, marking a franchise record, per SNY.

David Peterson (4-2) threw 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball and allowed five hits, one walk, hit a batter and struck out five. He threw 59 of 94 pitches for strikes. He was chased by a Ryan McMahon RBI double in the sixth, and Huascar Brazobán got Mickey Moniak to fly out to left to end the inning with runners on second and third.

Juan Soto (2-for-4) snapped an 0-for-17 skid with an RBI double, and Starling Marte hit a solo homer (3).

Sam Hilliard hit a pinch-hit, solo homer off Brazobán in the seventh to pull Colorado within 3-2.

Rockies starter Kyle Freeland (0-8) pitched six innings and gave up three earned runs to lower his ERA to 5.72. He hasn’t won a game since Sept. 8 of last year.

Reed Garrett pitched a perfect eighth, striking out two to lower his ERA to 0.73. Edwin Díaz earned his 12th save by striking out the side in the ninth. Hitters are now 0-for-30 with 13 strikeouts in their last 30 at-bats against the closer.

Stats of the Game

Opponents are 0-for-12 with the bases loaded against Peterson over the last two seasons, per SNY. Peterson, whose ERA dipped to 2.69, hasn’t allowed more than three earned runs in any of his 11 starts.

Player of the Game

Lindor was 3-for-4 with his two homers, three runs scored and the web gem. He’s now slashing .278/.347/.480. He tied Derek Jeter (260) for fourth on the list of home runs by a shortstop (60 percent of career games at the position).

On Deck

Another pitching mismatch on paper. Kodai Senga (5-3, 1.46 ERA) faces RHP Antonio Senzatela (1-9, 6.50 ERA). To qualify for the ERA leaderboard, pitchers need to have as many innings pitched as their team has games played. Senga, at 55 2/3 innings, could therefore end Saturday leading the National League in the stat. First pitch is 4:10 p.m. ET, and the game will air on WPIX.

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