Watch: Loney follows clutch HR with dramatic bat flip
James Loney did his best Saturday to help the New York Mets clinch a wild-card spot.
Loney's two-run shot in the sixth inning gave the Mets a 4-2 lead against the Philadelphia Phillies, and the first baseman celebrated with an epic bat flip.
"I don't even know what I did with it," Loney told reporters after the game. "I don't know if I just dropped it or I flipped it or what. That's nothing ever toward the other team. That's just for your team. That's the excitement that you have. As a hitter, you get out a lot. So there's times in those big moments it's fun to enjoy it."
The timely blast held up as the difference, as three innings later, closer Jeurys Familia induced a game-inning fly out from Aaron Altherr to clinch the Mets' second straight playoff appearance.
New York will host either St. Louis or San Francisco in the National League wild-card game on Thursday at Citi Field.
(Video courtesy: MLB.com)
HEADLINES
- Report: A's won't rule out trading Miller, have high asking price
- TV series in the works about Ohtani's ex-interpreter's gambling scandal
- Classic success: The Mariners' approach to pitching won't ever go out of style
- Cardinals to snap losing skid vs. Brewers
- Hyde keeping struggling Kimbrel as O's closer: 'Need to get him right'