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It's been 16 days since the New York Mets last played at home. On Sept. 22, the Mets defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in front of a sold-out crowd at Citi Field. There will be even more people in the stands Tuesday night when the Mets host the Phillies in their first NLDS game since 2015.
Everyone involved, from the players to the coaches to the fans, is over the moon the Mets are returning home with games to play rather than their equipment stowed away for the offseason. Citi Field is expected to be an incredible environment, one the Mets feel can rival that of the Phillies.
They got the full dosage of the Philadelphia faithful over the weekend. Not only did the crowd boo the Mets, but also the Phillies who put together a game and a half worth of virtually nothing before exploding at the end of Game 2 for a walk-off win that saved their season.
Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor knows if the team lays down a dud, they'll hear it from their fans too.
“We've got to play well here, otherwise we'll get booed here too,” Lindor said, per Anthony DiComo.
He said it with a smile, but his statement rings true. Mets fans have waited two weeks for an opportunity to see New York play at home again. The Mets seem like a team that can make a run in October. The players believe that so why shouldn’t the fans?
Regardless of how the crowd feels or reacts throughout the game, the excitement of simply being back home is enough to get the Mets up.
“Finally, I get to play back home,” Lindor said, per SNY. “I'm very excited, it's going to be a fantastic atmosphere.”
Mets trying to build Citi Field fortress
Naturally, every fanbase is going to lock in more than usual during the MLB playoffs. The crowds are bigger, louder and more impactful in October.
The Mets' performance in the second half of the season has turned Citi Field into one of the best atmospheres in baseball. They were almost unbeatable at home in September, going 11-2. New York held opponents to two or fewer runs in seven of those games with a pair of shutouts.
Furthermore, the Mets lost one series at home since the All-Star break. They haven’t dropped consecutive games at home since the final weekend of July, a stat that bodes well for them in this NLDS format.
New York is 5-6 at Citi Field in the postseason but they've won only two of their last seven games dating back to the 2015 World Series. They lost two of three at home in that series, lost the 2016 NL Wild Card Game, and then dropped two of three at home in the 2022 NL Wild Card Series.
The heartbreaks of those losses can be buried a bit with a series win. The Mets now have home-field advantage over the Phillies but surely don’t want the series to get back to Philadelphia. New York, with its raucous crowd behind, can avoid that with two wins at home.
It begins Tuesday night in Queens.
