By Sam Blum, Grant Brisbee, Kaitlyn McGrath and Jen McCaffrey

The New York Mets’ magic continued as a grand slam by Francisco Lindor helped them stun the Philadelphia Phillies and book their ticket to the NLCS. The Mets await the winner of the Los Angeles Dodgers-San Diego Padres series, which heads to a decisive Game 5 after an 8-0 Dodgers loss. Meanwhile, in the American League, both the Yankees and Tigers took the lead in their series. Let’s take a look around the clock and look ahead to what’s going to happen on Thursday.

The New York Mets return to the National League Championship Series for the first time in nine years. Francisco Lindor’s sixth-inning grand slam sent Citi Field into pandemonium as the Mets clinched their first postseason series at the ballpark since it opened in 2009, thanks to a 4-1 victory over the Phillies. meanwhile behind their postseason hopes for a third straight year.

Stock to: Francisco Lindor

Lindor’s nonchalant confidence as he floated around the bases, seconds after launching perhaps the biggest home run of his career, showed it all. Nine days earlier, his ninth-inning home run on the final day of the season against Atlanta sent the Mets to the postseason, and an even bigger homer on Wednesday helped them advance. Entering the night, Lindor had gone just 3-for-13 in the series, but rose to the occasion at a crucial moment after the Mets wasted two previous bases-loaded situations. As Carlos Estévez moved closer to meet him, Lindor drove a 99 mph fastball over the heart of the plate, 400 feet to center for the game-changing hit.

Stock down: Phillies offense

It might be easy to chalk this up to Estévez for giving up the grand slam, but in reality, the Phillies’ offensive drought is to blame for much of the series. Outside of Sunday’s seven-point outburst, the Phillies scored just five points in their other three games in the series. In the series, the team collectively hit .186 and the bottom of the rankings in particular struggled with Alec Bohm (1-for-10), JT Realmuto (0-for-11) and Brandon Marsh (1-for-13). ) combine to go 2-for-37.

Required reading

All season, the AL Central was owned by Cleveland. The Tigers were an afterthought. That is, until they weren’t. Now, after Wednesday’s 3-0 win, the Tigers are just one win away from promotion to the ALCS in a season that saw their playoff chances drop to 0.2 percent in mid-August. The Tigers scored five hits and three runs, and six pitchers combined for the second consecutive shutout. The Tigs remain Gritty.

Stock: pitching chaos

Yes, everyone knows Tarik Skubal, the AL triple Crown owner and surefire Cy Young Award winner. But it seems like everyone else on Detroit’s pitching staff is pretty good too. Manager AJ Hinch has opted to mix and match this entire postseason and has seen a level of perhaps surprising success. On Wednesday, six pitchers combined for the win, allowing only two walks and six basehits. The Guardians haven’t scored a run in twenty innings.

Stock down: José Ramirez

It can be a bit harsh to judge someone after three games, but that’s the nature of a five-game series. The Guardians are not known as a versatile offensive team. They need Ramirez as run producer. So far, he’s just 1 of 9 with two intentional walks. He’s not the only one who’s struggled, but his failures are more notable.

The Guardians desperately need José Ramirez to get going. (Photo: Duane Burleson/Getty Images)

Required reading

The good atmosphere at Kauffman Stadium, hosting baseball for the first time in nine years, wasn’t enough to calm the Yankees, who topped the Royals 3-2. Yankees DH Giancarlo Stanton contributed in countless ways, pushing his team to a 2-1 series lead and into the precipice of the ALCS. To make a comeback, the Royals now face the difficult task of winning two games in a row, including Thursday against Yankees ace Gerrit Cole. If Kansas City were to force a Game 5, it would take place in a raucous Yankee Stadium.

Stock to: Giancarlo Stanton

The Yankees had been waiting for a signature moment from one of their stars, and Stanton finally came through. The 34-year-old opened the scoring for New York with an RBI double in the fourth inning and then broke the 2-2 tie with a game-winning solo home run in the eighth. It was the Yankees’ first postseason home run in the eighth or later since Raúl Ibañez in Game 3 of the 2012 ALDS. Stanton finished 3-for-5 and… (checks notes)… a base stolen in the sixth inning.

Stock Bearing: Bobby Witt Jr. and Aaron Judge

So much for the battle for the top two AL MVP candidates. Judge, the presumptive MVP winner, and Witt, the presumptive runner-up, played no role in this series, which has silenced a major topic of conversation leading up to the match. Judge is 1-for-11 with five strikeouts and three walks. Witt finally broke his run of oh-fer on Wednesday with a single in the eighth inning, but the Royals shortstop is now just 1-for-13 with a walk and no runs scored. It’s Witt’s first postseason restart, but for Judge it continues a curious downward trend from last October. In his last 13 playoff games, Judge is now 7-for-51.

Required reading

The Dodgers kept their season alive, jumping on Dylan Cease early and hammering San Diego’s bullpen, winning 8–0 to force a Game 5. Mookie Betts hit his third straight ball over the fence in the first inning (albeit just his second home run), and he added a two-out RBI single in the second inning. Shohei Ohtani added his own RBI with two outs, and Will Smith and Gavin Lux hit stellar home runs. The Dodgers’ bullpen game gambit worked beautifully, eliminating the Padres and setting up a final game at Dodger Stadium.

Stock to: Mookie Betts

Betts was hitless in all three games of last season’s NLDS, and his career postseason numbers are considerably less impressive than his regular season numbers. A story was about to freeze. Instead, he hit first-inning home runs in consecutive games, and the only reason he didn’t have a first-inning home run in Game 1 was because of a notable play by Jurickson Profar. Betts added a two-out RBI in the second inning, and he will enter Game 5 with a postseason OPS over 1.000. He didn’t have to prove anything, but he does it anyway.

Stock Down: Use your starting pitcher during three days of rest

Stop it. Don’t do it. Stop. If you think you have good reasons, you don’t. There have been success stories over the past fifteen seasons, but this October there have been more scary stories when it comes to three days of rest. The Padres didn’t use Cease on short rests because they felt froggy and arrogant; they did it because Joe Musgrove is out this season. Still, the choice was between a short rest and a fully rested Martín Pérez, and if the Padres can’t play Game 5, they’ll have the rest of their lives wondering what was behind the other door.

On deck for Thursday

Guards at Tigers. 6:08 PM ET, TNT

Tigers lead series 2-1
CLE Tanner Bibee (12-8, 3.47) vs. DET (TBA)

Player to watch: Tanner Bibee

This will be Bibee’s sixth start of the season against the Tigers. Four in the regular season, where he posted a 4.50 ERA, and another in Game 1. He will operate on four rest days. It will be a familiar duel, but with unknown stakes for the Guardians.

Yankees at Royals. 8:08 PM ET, TBS

Yankees lead series 2-1
NYY Gerrit Cole (8-5, 3.41 ERA) vs. KC Michael Wacha (13-8, 3.35 ERA)

The Royals have the unenviable task of taking on Gerrit Cole in a win-or-go-home match. (Photo: Luke Hales/Getty Images)

Player to watch: Gerrit Cole

Historically, Cole has been solid in the postseason, with a 3.05 ERA in 18 career starts, but the New York ace was mediocre in the series opener, allowing four runs on seven hits over five innings with four strikeouts. His lackluster performance was largely a side issue as the Yankees won the game. But Game 4 is a chance for Cole to do this series again, with the chance to close it out and send the Yankees to the ALCS.

(Top photo of Mets celebrating: Elsa / Getty Images)