After two weeks on the road that included games they should have played, games they almost didn’t have to play, and two separate trips back and forth to the same two cities, the Mets are back home Tuesday – and have a chance, with back-to-back wins, to keep the magic brewing all the way to the NLCS.
“They’re handing out rally towels, and I want every bit of juice and energy. You know that it's gonna be just as intense as any other environment out there in Major League Baseball, if not more, at Citi Field later on today,” Gio said Tuesday morning.
“Well, the Mets deserve it. They went out there for a two-week jaunt and gave us some of the most memorable moments in the history of the franchise, especially late in games with home runs,” Boomer said. “That’s what excites fans, scoring runs and hitting home runs. Your fan base gets all jacked up, and they can't wait to welcome home the Mets tonight. I would imagine that it's gonna be an insane atmosphere at Citi Field, and it should be.”
The last time we saw the Mets at Citi Field, they were two games up on Atlanta for the final Wild Card but had to go to ATL and then Milwaukee, so no one knew if the Sept. 22 win over the Phillies was going to be the swan song.
And then the last two weeks happened, which has to have everyone juiced – especially knowing that if they repeat the results of the final weekend at Citi, there’s gonna be at least two more games in Queens, those being Games 3 and 4 of the NLCS against the Dodgers or Padres.
“I would imagine that it's gotta be a positive for them getting back home. You don't want them to be comfortable, because they played really well being uncomfortable away from home, but I don't think that they will. I think it'll be a boost,” Gio said. “I think that coming back and playing in front of the Mets fans, when you saw how important it was to them in Milwaukee seeing the Mets fans that were there when they clinched that series…just imagine now an entire stadium filled with that.”
And now, Pete Alonso gets to re-write what could be his Queens finale, and the Mets, who have answered all the questions about themselves, get another chance to get the love.
“You talk about energy and we've seen this now in a lot of these stadiums; I know that 2015 was great, and it was a World Series run that was unexpected for the most part, and they got there and those games were crazy,” Boomer said. “You can imagine what this is gonna be like. It's been a long time coming and they deserve it; they deserve the home fans to be behind them and supporting them and giving them the energy that they've been talking about. Every single guy on this team, all they're talking about is getting home in front of their fans.”