Livescore
It looks like Mets fans heard Brandon Nimmo.
A night after the outfielder made a public plea for fans to show up to Citi Field during the team’s four-game series with the Philadelphia Phillies (which is also the Mets’ final regular season series at home), the attendance on Thursday night was a boisterous 35,982 who cheered like it was a playoff game.
The crowd was into it from the first pitch with Luis Severino striking out three in the top of the first inning before Mark Vientos and Pete Alonso hit back-to-back home runs in the bottom half of the frame to get everybody on their feet.
The party went on from there as the Mets beat Philadelphia in the series opener thanks again to an offensive onslaught that saw New York score 10 runs, including four home runs, for the third consecutive game for the first time in franchise history.
“Great energy tonight. Playoff-type atmosphere,” Nimmo said after the game. “We need more of that as we go down this stretch and into this weekend. We fed off of it. Felt like a playoff game and for us it is.
“These games, we’re all trying to win every single one of them, and these guys are fired up for making this push at the end… Great atmosphere, great energy tonight and the guys responded really, really well.”
The Mets have saved their best baseball for the final stretch of the season, winning 16 out of their last 20 games to move to a season-high 17 games above .500 and are giving their fans a reason to want to come out and show their support.
What’s even more impressive, especially lately, is New York is doing this without star shortstop and MVP candidate Francisco Lindor who remains out with a back injury.
“Having the fans behind us, the atmosphere today was incredible,” said manager Carlos Mendoza. “Really good crowd, they were into it from the very beginning… we feel it in the dugout. It’s us playing well, getting results, having fun, pushing each other and the fans supporting the team.”
And although Thursday’s crowd was electric, Alonso said after the game that he wants even more over the weekend starting on Friday night.
After all, while 35,982 in attendance is good, it’s not the nearly 42,000 in capacity that Citi Field can hold.
“When Citi’s a vibe and a fun place to play, we totally feed off that, in a really good way,” Alonso said. “We only have, what, three games left here? I’m doubling down: Come on, guys. Come on out. Help create that environment that we love to play in.”
The Mets will need all the support they can get facing the teeth of the Phillies’ starting rotation in the coming days.
“We’re coming down the homestretch. This is something you dream about in the offseason,” Alonso said. “…And to have that feedback and energy from the fans. We need that. The more positive energy and the more people creating a hostile environment for the road team that helps us play better. It’s infectious.”
At this point, with the way New York is playing, why wouldn’t fans want to see them in person as the team fights for a playoff berth.
“They believe, we believe and it’s fun right now,” Mendoza said.
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