Francisco Lindor gave the Mets a reason to believe

MILWAUKEE — How do you even begin to believe, when it feels like hope already has taken off for winter? 

Even Steve Cohen, sitting near the visiting dugout, looked at the score in a do-or-die NL Wild Card Game 3 and conceded “2-0 felt like 10-0.” 

After all, there were just three outs left in the season. The Brewers had hit homers on consecutive pitches in the seventh inning against Jose Butto to turn a visiting park for the Mets into a hostile indoor decibel festival. There was Devin Williams on the mound, among the best relievers in the world, fresh off a 10-pitch, 1-2-3, ninth-inning close Wednesday in Game 2, impressive in both its dominance and brevity. 

To that point, the Mets had as many hits as the Brewers had runs. Both were by Francisco Lindor. And then Williams got ahead of Lindor, 1-2. 

Let’s put this in perspective: Including retiring Jesse Winker to end Game 2, there were 35 batters who fell behind Williams 1-2 this season. Only once after that did a player produce a hit. Once, a player walked. No typos there. That is one hit, one walk. 

“I was just thinking to win the at-bat,” Lindor said. 

A win would mean to get on base. To give hope in a hopeless spot. He won the eight-pitch duel — fouling off two full-count pitches and check-swinging on the next for ball four. 

“He is a professional, inside and out,” Brandon Nimmo said. “And that was a professional at-bat.” 

It was more. It was a trigger. An organization that once elevated on “Ya Gotta Believe” had another cornerstone to, sure, why not? The walk was a defibrillator for an entire team. 

“I think [Lindor] has spent the season showing there is no at-bat too big for him,” David Stearns said. 

The Mets president of baseball operations said that in a room swimming in champagne. Lindor walked. Nimmo singled with one out. Pete Alonso, who seemed like he might drift into free agency without ever delivering a memory in his walk year, then took Williams out to the opposite field for a go-ahead, three-run homer. Starling Marte would add an insurance RBI single. 

Then, fittingly, with one on and one out, speedy Brice Turang would hit a one-hopper at Lindor, who would take it to the bag and fire to first. Mets 4, Brewers 2. The Mets had won their first playoff series since taking the 2015 pennant. They were off to Philadelphia for the Division Series. 

There is so much magic about the Mets right now. They could never win a big game in Atlanta. Until Lindor’s two-run homer in the ninth inning of Game 161 rallied the Mets into the playoffs. They were constantly beat up here in Milwaukee. But they took two of three, coming from behind in both victories. Now, on to Philadelphia — another bit of negative history to stare down. 

This is all being done with Lindor as the best player — arguably having the finest positional year in franchise history. Being the leader of the team. Doing it with a bad back late in the year. And so it was right that at another dark moment, he offered light. 

“For him to lay off those pitchers against an obviously amazing closer and just get it started, it is such a huge difference — suddenly, you have hope,” Nimmo said. “But he’s led all season. I really think until this year, he was an underrated player. Now, everyone realizes how amazing he is.” 

Jose Quintana had offered six innings of changeups and guts, holding the Brewers hitless in 11 at-bats with men on base to keep a scoreless tie. But … 

The Mets’ bullpen nearly killed their season in May. But Stearns fixed it. Butto went into it. Phil Maton was acquired. Yet, Maton allowed two homers in the eighth inning Wednesday to bring defeat. And now Butto allowed two more in the seventh of Game 3. What didn’t slay them in May, was going to finish off the Mets in October. 

The Mets had just those two Lindor hits and the Brewers had those two runs. And Williams — and winter — were lurking. 

“But when he drew this walk, I thought to myself, ‘You know, we could pull this thing out,’ ” Cohen said. 

Lindor was the foundational piece of the Cohen ownership — first huge acquisition, first giant payday. Lindor’s full brilliance has been on display in Year 4 as a Met. Heck, there were defensive plays in this series that Lindor made with range and creativity and didn’t result in outs, yet still were works of art. 

And then there was 1-2 against Williams. There was a need for a flicker, a symbol the season was not over. Lindor had faced Williams twice in the last week. Gotten to two strikes both times and made out. But he felt he knew the fastball/air-bender changeup combo well now. 

“Whatever it takes to be on base and let the boys do their jobs,” Lindor said. 

He won the at-bat. The Mets won the game with him again as their leading man on both sides of the ball and in the clubhouse. On to Philadelphia for a franchise suddenly feeling all possibilities. When you are down, there has to be a reason where: 

Ya Gotta Believe.