Francisco Lindor torches Phillies with two homers as Mets escape 5-4 in series opener

The Phillies waited all night to show up, and by the time they did, Francisco Lindor had already set Citi Field on fire — again.

Lindor led off the bottom of the first inning by launching a rocket off Aaron Nola to the second deck, marking his second consecutive game with a leadoff home run. He wasn’t done. In the seventh, he delivered a three-run bomb to essentially bury the Phillies, giving the Mets a 5-0 lead and reminding Philly fans of his playoff dagger last October.

The Mets won 5-4 on Monday night, barely holding off a ninth-inning rally that almost flipped the script. JT Realmuto knocked in a run with an RBI single, and Bryson Stott made things extremely interesting with a three-run bomb off Edwin Díaz.

BRYSON STOTT. RING IT.#RingTheBell | #Phillies pic.twitter.com/tcfdjhIJXl

— The Liberty Line (@LibertyLinePHL) April 22, 2025

Unfortunately, Díaz rebounded to strike out Trea Turner and Bryce Harper in succession, slamming the door shut in vintage fashion.

Another Mess From Nola

Aaron Nola’s nightmare season continues. He allowed four runs and seven hits over 6 1/3 innings and fell to 0-5. His ERA ballooned to 6.75. It’s April 22, and the Phillies’ $172 million “ace” still hasn’t delivered a quality start.

The problem isn’t just Lindor torching him — it’s that Nola hasn’t been able to put anyone away with consistency.

Key Numbers That’ll Make You Sick

• Lindor now has five homers this season — four in his last four games.
• It was his 20th career multi-homer game as a shortstop.
• Nola became the first NL pitcher to reach five losses this year.
• The Phillies are now 13-10 and 2.5 games back of the Mets in the NL East.

Up Next for the Phillies

The Phillies turn to Cristopher Sánchez (2-0, 2.96 ERA) to stop the bleeding Tuesday night. The Mets will counter with Griffin Canning (2-1, 3.43 ERA). Given the way the Mets have been swinging the bats — and the Phillies bullpen has been unraveling — this one might require some early offense from the Fightins.

Because apparently waiting until the ninth is no longer working.

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