Lindor Torches Philly Early, McLean Does the Rest

Francisco Lindor went 3-for-3 with a home run and 3 RBI, and Nolan McLean struck out 10 over six shutout innings as the Mets dismantled the Phillies 6-1 on Sunday. The game was effectively over before most fans had finished their first beer.

The story of the night was how fast New York buried this one. Lindor opened the scoring in the first with a 420-foot shot to right that scored Bichette, and that swing alone flipped Philadelphia's home win probability from 51% to 32% — a 19-point crater in the first inning. The Mets weren't done. In the second, Torrens doubled to left to score Baty, then Lindor singled to right to score Torrens, pushing the lead to 4-0. Benge added a fifth run on a sacrifice fly to right that scored Soto. Alan Rangel lasted just four innings for Philadelphia, allowing 7 hits and 5 earned runs against 3 walks — the kind of outing that makes a bullpen groan.

McLean, meanwhile, was untouchable. Six innings, 2 hits, 0 earned runs, 10 strikeouts. That's a line that demands attention regardless of the opponent. The Mets added an insurance run in the sixth when Soto singled to center to score Torrens, making it 6-0 and rendering the final three innings a formality. Alec Bohm gave the home crowd something to cheer in the seventh with a 396-foot homer to left — the only blemish on an otherwise dominant New York performance — but by then the margin was academic. Huascar Brazoban closed out his inning of work with 2 strikeouts and no hits allowed.

Lindor's night deserves its own paragraph. Three plate appearances, three times on base, a home run, three RBI, and the defining moment of the game all before the second inning was over. Luis Torrens crossed the plate twice and drove in a run. Juan Soto went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Bo Bichette went 2-for-5 and scored. This looks like a lineup that was locked in from the jump, and Philadelphia's pitching staff had no answer for it. The Phillies managed just two hits off McLean all night. That's not a competitive game — that's a statement.