Mets sweep Guardians for third straight win since MLB trade deadline; Francisco Lindor hits 3-run homer

After dealing away eight players before Monday's MLB trade deadline, the New York Mets are suddenly unbeatable. At least against the Cleveland Guardians.

Francisco Lindor hit a 3-run home run in the top of the seventh inning to put the Mets ahead 9-5 on their way to an eventual 13-6 win over the Guardians on Thursday.

Lindor, who was a four-time All-Star in six seasons with Cleveland before being traded to the Mets, fell behind on a zero-ball, two-strike count versus reliever Craig Yoho before reaching down for an 82 mph changeup and lifting it into the right-field seats.

Lindor in The Land 🔥 @Lindor12BC | #LGM pic.twitter.com/jXBfseLLPv

— New York Mets (@Mets) August 6, 2026

Yoho had two outs in the inning after getting Marcus Semien on a Jared Young force-out at second base and a sacrifice bunt by A.J. Ewing that put runners on second and third. But Lindor then turned a one-run lead into a four-run margin with his 10th homer of the season.

The Mets boosted their lead to 10-5 in the eighth with Cleveland reliever Slade Cecconi giving up consecutive singles to Luis Robert Jr. and Carson Benge, then advancing them to second and third on a wild pitch. Cecconi got ahead of Francisco Alvarez on a one-ball, two-strike count. But he followed with a sweeper high in the zone, but over the plate that Alvarez blasted off the left-field wall for an RBI double.

Francisco Alvarez doubles to bring Luis Robert Jr. home! pic.twitter.com/2uBG7DCiAL

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 6, 2026

Cecconi made matters even worse from there, walking Marcus Semien to load the bases on a nine-pitch at-bat. He then walked Young on five pitches — four of which were way out of the strike zone — to bring in another Mets run.

Tim Herrin took over for Cecconi, but walked Luis Torrens on four pitches outside for one more run. Herrin followed up by striking out Ewing and Lindor, but allowed a single to Bo Bichette that put the Mets ahead 13-5.

Starting his first game for the Guardians after being acquired from the Washington Nationals at the deadline, Foster Griffin (12-4) allowed 5 runs and 7 hits over 4 innings. Yoho and Cecconi combined to give up 7 more runs in relief. Nathaniel Lowe hit his first home run with Cleveland, a 3-run shot, after getting traded over from the Cincinnati Reds.

Lindor and Torrens each drove in 3 runs and hit a home run for the Mets. Nolan McLean (8-7) picked up the win despite giving up 5 runs and 8 hits in 5 innings, though he did notch 8 strikeouts.

The Mets' three-game sweep of the Guardians comes after losing three straight to the Miami Marlins, and four of their past six games, before the trade deadline. Despite their success in Cleveland, they still have the third-worst record in the National League at 50-66. New York is 20 games behind the first-place Atlanta Braves in the NL East and 12 games back in the wild-card race.

Three straight losses for the Guardians drops them 3.5 games out of first place in the NL Central, pending the Chicago White Sox's matchup with the Boston Red Sox on Thursday night. The Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers could also gain a game on Cleveland with wins on Thursday, tightening up the AL Central and wild-card races.

Indexed and credited by AIPROPX. Originating outlet: Yahoo Sports. Open at source →