Francisco Lindor still doesn’t look like him, but maybe he can look like the four-time All-Star at the right time.
Pete Alonso had the big bombs, but the Mets franchise added the two-run single that opened Tuesday’s 9-4 victory over the Marlins at loanDepot Park in Miami. The success continued with a hot streak at the right time for Lindor.
Alonso has been trying, sometimes successfully, to take the offense on his back, but Lindor took some of the weight with an off in the sixth inning.
The Mets had already flown a couple of two-run advantages, and their 5-4 lead at the time was far from guaranteed. But with the bases loaded, Lindor stroked a two-run single to center Zach Pop’s left to increase the lead, and the Mets just added their lead from there.
“At a time like this and what we want to achieve, I count on him to show up and be able to raise him just where we are,” manager Luis Rojas said of Zoom after the Mets retired in a sloppy game. “He has been in situations like this before. He has also played a lot of playoff baseball. So I think he’s a guy who can take advantage at a time like this. “
Yes, the first five months – and all these struggles – are important. September also matters and the $ 341 million stoppage is 7 vs. 17 (.412) with two homers, a double, three walks and seven RBIs in his last five games.
Lindor’s PAHO (.702) has overcome an obstacle and is approaching respectability, if not the .871 PAHO it released in its 2018 high season.
Lindor’s two-run swing, which also entered base twice in five plate appearances, was forgiven for a second-inning error, its eighth of the season.
Miami’s Eddy Alvarez fell hard to second place, where Lindor was replaced. Lindor snatched the ball, gloved it and threw it too late. This proved costly immediately, when opposing pitcher Edward Cabrera doubled in an unbeaten run.
“We have to finish the plays,” Rojas said after the Mets were charged with three errors in the game.
Lindor’s defense has not been impeccable and his offense has been one of the biggest disappointments of the Mets season. For some hard-to-swallow perspective, Amed Rosario, who was part of the deal that brought Lindor to Queens, has a .744 OPS with Cleveland this season.
But there is still a decade to go in Lindor’s new contract to determine both the trade and the extent that Mets owner Steve Cohen handed over to the superstar, who no longer turns fans around.
And there are still a few weeks left for Lindor to inspire the kind of hope it has sparked so far in September.