English
Spanish
French
German
Italian
Portuguese
Russian
Chinese (Simplified)
Hindi
Japanese
PHILADELPHIA — Carlos Mendoza articulated what so many have suggested the past year and a half concerning Francisco Lindor.
“It seems like every time he goes,” the Mets manager said, “we go.”
When Francisco Lindor plays well, the Mets can count on winning the game.
Lindor drilled a third-inning home run that began 1) a comeback from two runs down and 2) a series of three consecutive batters who homered for the Mets, and many more dingers were to come in an 11-4, skid-busting victory over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
During the now-vanquished seven-game losing streak, the reliable and likely All-Star shortstop went 3-for-26, including entering play Saturday in an 0-for-18 slide.
“I’ve been missing my pitches,” Lindor said.
That slide was gone when Lindor crushed a shot to left-center, the deepest part of the ballpark, against righty Mick Abel, and soon enough the Mets’ slide was gone, too.
The Mets have won the past 28 games in which Lindor has homered, just one shy of the all-time MLB record established by Carl Furillo from 1951-53.
“I wish I would’ve hit home runs in Atlanta,” Lindor cracked, shrugging off a factoid that might matter more to those around him.
“It’s hard to explain,” Mendoza said. “But he’s a good player.”
“Obviously being right at the top of the lineup, if he’s on base and able to create traffic, it’s going to bode well for the guys behind him,” said Brandon Nimmo, who followed Lindor’s blast with his own second homer of the night, which was followed by Juan Soto making it back-to-back-to-back.
Lindor finished 2-for-5 with one of the Mets’ seven home runs, a double and three RBIs, most importantly jump-starting the Mets’ comeback in the third.
Down 3-1 entering the frame — an early hole the team had become accustomed to during the tailspin — Lindor stepped into a full-count four-seamer from Abel and crushed it 406 feet to left-center.
Amid the solo-home-run barrage, the Mets were only up one run when Lindor got another chance in the sixth.
His damage done from the left side of the plate, Lindor turned around against lefty Tanner Banks and snuck a double off the wall in the right-field corner, scoring two to put the Mets ahead, perhaps allowing his team to breathe again.
Allowing his team to breathe — and maybe win — seems to be Lindor’s greatest trait for the Mets.
“I think hitting is contagious,” said Lindor, who has brushed aside concerns about the broken pinkie toe he suffered about two and a half weeks ago. “Felt good to contribute to the team.”
