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Francisco Lindor Brings House Down at Citi Field After Record-Tying Moment vs. Mariners
Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

The New York Mets entered Friday night's series opener against the visiting Seattle Mariners at Citi Field looking to snap a two-game skid following back-to-back losses to the Atlanta Braves in Queens in a previous set. 

It did not start the right way for the Mets, as Mariners star Julio Rodriguez had an RBI double off New York starter Sean Manaea to put Seattle on the board first in the opening inning.

But that lead did not last long for the Mariners, with the Mets tying the score at 1-1 after New York star shortstop Francisco Lindor launched a solo homer in the bottom of the first inning. Lindor got ahead of Mariners starter Luis Castillo right away with three straight balls before getting a strike and fouling a pitch for a 3-2 count. 

Castillo then fired a 94 mph four-seam fastball to Lindor, who hit it for a 369-foot home run that sent the entire Citi Field rocking.

Lindor did not just level the score at 1-1 with that blast; he also pulled even with former Mets star outfielder Curtis Granderson for a franchise record, as noted by Sarah Langs of MLB.com.

"That’s Francisco Lindor’s 7th leadoff home run this season, Langs wrote in a post on X. "That ties the Mets franchise record for a season (Curtis Granderson in 2015 & ‘16)."

The Mets are trying to right the ship amid 2025 MLB playoff hopes

Whether they were aware of the historic significance of that home run or not, Mets fans surely had reason to celebrate Lindor's 23rd tater of the 2025 MLB regular season.

The Mets are still trying to turn things around amid a brutal stretch, having lost 13 of 15 games prior to the Mariners series, so any spark is a welcome sight for New York fans, who still believe in their team's chances to make the MLB playoffs.

The Mets started Friday with a 64-57 record, five games behind the National League East-leading Philadelphia Phillies (69-52 ). They are in a precarious spot in the wild-card race as well, as the Mets were just 0.5 games ahead of the Cincinnati Reds for the third and final  NL Wild-Card spot before the Seattle series. 

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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