Fans of the New York Mets got a bit of good news to ease the pain after a 5-1 road loss to the Atlanta Braves. Mets’ star Francisco Lindor looks to be ready for a contributing role to finish out the regular season’s last handful of games. Lindor came out to pinch hit in the ninth inning of the visiting Mets’ 5-1 loss to the hosting Atlanta Braves.
The Mets were having trouble touching anything rookie Spencer Schwellenbach threw so New York manager Carlos Mendoza gave Lindor a shot to knock off some rust. Unfortunately, the Braves got the 27th out before Lindor could step into the batter’s box.
Mendoza did leave open the possibility that Lindor could be in the lineup again tomorrow after missing eight straight games.
“Let’s see how he feels tomorrow,” Mendoza hedged. “He could be in play. He kept hitting (the batting cages) throughout the game. Sat down, went back to the cages, then was moving around. He felt good enough to say give me an at-bat here if you feel like (the game) gets there. So the last couple of innings I was going through some scenarios with him. Once we got to the ninth (inning) and we knew Inglesias was coming into the game, we went with it. He went to the on-deck circle. He was good enough to play today.”
The Mets are now just one game ahead of the Braves in the National League playoff race with five remaining. Mendoza’s men started the day a half-game ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the second of three wild card spots. Atlanta was 1.5 games behind the Diamondbacks before this win.
Carlos Mendoza’s Mets need Francisco Lindor’s lumber
There is no denying the Mets could use the bruised Lindor’s bat in the everyday lineup. He has produced 39 doubles, 31 home runs, and 86 RBI, with a career-best 136 OPS+ this season. The 30-year-old was a dark horse NL MVP candidate during Labor Day Weekend. That momentum has fallen by the wayside though. Mendoza was focused on the task at hand and what the Mets could control to close out the regular season after the most recent loss.
“We still have a chance to win a series here,” Mendoza explained. “We didn’t play well. We didn’t make a play a couple of times. We missed a cutoff man one time. We’ve got to turn the page. I know it is going to be a story because it is here in Atlanta. We’ve got to go out and do it.”
