Mets eliminate Phillies with Game 4 victory, advance to NLCS

The magic Mets are moving on.

New York defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 4-1 in Game 4 on Wednesday night to reach its first NLCS since 2015.

Francisco Lindor delivered in the clutch yet again, crushing a go-ahead grand slam in the sixth inning.

Philadelphia took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning on a fielding error by third baseman Mark Vientos, but Mets starter Jose Quintana escaped the jam without allowing any further damage.

Reed Garrett, David Peterson, and Edwin Díaz combined for four scoreless innings in relief of Quintana. Díaz walked the first two batters in the ninth before sitting down the next three to complete the save.

"Francisco's home run tonight, the grand slam, was just a storybook. If you wrote this up, what we've done in the last week ... I don't think you'd believe it," Brandon Nimmo told Fox Sports postgame.

New York's ride to the NLCS has been a rollercoaster.

The Mets clinched their playoff spot on the final day of the regular season in dramatic fashion, then rallied late to eliminate the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 3 of their wild-card series.

The Phillies' shocking defeat comes after they won the NL East over the Mets with 95 wins, the club's most since 2011. The juggernaut squad sent a franchise-record eight players to the All-Star Game.

"There were times during the ebbs and flows of this season where you get into a rut, and it happens in the postseason, too," Phillies manager Rob Thomson said, according to ASAP Sports Transcripts.

"Unfortunately, it happened at the end of the Arizona series last year and this year. But that doesn't mean that things won't change next year.

The Mets will now face either the San Diego Padres or Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS. That series opens Sunday in California.