The New York Mets defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday evening, taking two of three games from the NL West leaders. Following a 13-inning loss in the series opener, New York responded with two impressive performances to take down the defending champions on consecutive nights.
Falling to Los Angeles in last year’s National League Championship series, the Mets retooled this offseason in hopes of making another deep postseason run. This was headlined by the 15-year, $765 million contract awarded to Juan Soto. Paired with four-time All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor, Soto projected to make New York one of the most dominant teams in all of MLB.
While Soto finished 0-for-4 in Sunday’s win, he reached on a fielding error by Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy in the first inning. His hustle extended the inning for slugging first baseman Pete Alonso, who hit a two-run home run that proved to be the difference in New York’s 3-1 victory.
Wearing a microphone for the ESPN broadcast, Lindor had a strong message for Soto, and particularly his hustle that led to New York’s two-run first inning.
“That’s a winning player right there,” Lindor said of his new teammate. “His ability to pay attention to details. All he cares about is winning… He comes out every day and gives everything he’s got. I’m proud of him. He’s a great teammate… He extended that inning. We have two runs because of him.”
This win improved New York to 32-21 on the season, which ties them with LA for the second-best record in the National League. The only team better is the NL East-leading Philadelphia Phillies who the Mets now trail by two games.
