On a broken toe, Francisco Lindor delivers win for Mets: 'We're watching greatness'

Yahoo

10 hours ago

When Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said that Francisco Lindor could be available in Friday's series opener against the Rockies after keeping him out of the starting lineup for the second straight game, you just knew what eventually happened was a possibility.
In the ninth inning with the score tied 2-2 and runners in scoring position with two outs, the Mets skipper called upon his shortstop -- hobbled by a fractured pinky toe -- to try and push across the go-ahead run.
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Mendoza needed something; the Mets outside of Pete Alonso -- whose two-run double in the seventh put them ahead temporarily -- have struggled mightily this season with runners in scoring position. Entering Friday, Lindor was hitting only .189 with RISP, but the Mets needed their de facto captain and he came through, broken toe and all.
Lindor pulled a sweeper into right field to score two runs to lift the Mets to a 4-2 win.
"Special player, I've been saying it. Special talent. We're watching greatness," Mendoza said of Lindor after the game. "Continues to do what All-Stars do. Continues to show up in big situations on a day when he was in the dugout with a bat in his hand since the fifth inning, finally gets his chance and comes through for us."
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Mendoza said that right before the game, when Lindor came away from hitting in the batting cages feeling ok, he knew he could use him. Ideally, Mendoza wanted to stay away from Lindor, especially knowing that it would have been a two-player move to replace him in the field for the bottom of the ninth, but as the game went on the second-year manager told Lindor in the eighth inning that if Tyrone Taylor's turn at-bat came up in the ninth, he was going to him.
"For me and for a lot of people, we are spoiled," Alonso said of Lindor. "With him, he's a guy who is ready to strap on regardless... I see him do stuff like this all the time. I know it's hard to do. Battling through physical stuff, there's limitations. I have nothing but the utmost respect. He's a true pro and he embodies that."
"It illustrates what type of person Francisco Lindor is," Kodai Senga, who allowed just one run over six innings on Friday, said through an interpreter. "A leader. He's just a superstar."
So, how did Lindor prepare for his pinch-hit opportunity? The shortstop said he was ready because he discussed the possibility with Mendoza before the game and the team's trainers got him ready.
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"Mendy had a great game plan from the beginning of the day, he told me what was in his mind. It was just a matter of the trainers," Lindor said. "They did a fantastic job, they prepped me the right way. They did everything in their power to get me on the field. Around the fourth or fifth inning, Mendy asked me if I was available to hit and I said yeah."
This isn't the first time Lindor, who usually plays just about every game, has come up with heroics while not at 100 percent as a Met. Last season saw him overcome the flu to deliver a game-winning hit, and when last year's back issues first popped up, he delivered down the stretch, including help the team clutch a playoff berth.
Lindor said he can feel he's not 100 percent at the plate, but knows he's not the only big league player playing through injury. So when he's good enough to play and help the team, he'll be ready.
"The Lord has blessed me to play this game and stay on the field. When I'm not on the field, the trainers do a fantastic job. You see the results, but they are the one putting in the time to get me right and on the field. This training staff is one of the best, if not the best. Once it comes to those moments, I'm just there to make something happen. Just get a good pitch, and what happens happens. Don't let the moment get too big."
Lindor hopes he's in the lineup on Saturday, but knows that he needs to see how he feels tomorrow and speak to Mendoza and the trainers. But even if Mendoza wants to give his shortstop another day off, he knows he can use him again when he needs a big hit.