Mets beat Red Sox for sixth straight win behind Francisco Lindor's big game
Francisco Lindor of the Mets celebrates after hitting a two-run home run in the bottom of the third inning against the Red Sox at Citi Field on Tuesday. Credit: Errol Anderson
There is a buzz that builds inside Citi Field when Francisco Lindor steps to the plate, especially in those big moments, with the game on the line and the Mets’ season perhaps hanging there with it.
The baseline is an excited murmur. Of late, there are increasingly loud, coherent chants of “M-V-P.” And at this point, near the end of maybe Lindor’s best season yet, the energy extends to the home dugout, where the Mets get this feeling of inevitability, an intangible sense that their best all-around player is about to do something fun.
In a 7-2 win over the Red Sox on Tuesday night, the Mets’ sixth consecutive victory, that aura proved present again.
Lindor led the way: 2-for-4 with three RBIs and a steal. He opened the scoring with a two-run home run in the third and added a run-scoring double in the game-sealing, four-run eighth.
“Every time he’s at the plate, we feel good about our chances,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He’s locked in right now.”
David Peterson said: “I felt the same thing . . . He’s been doing a lot. He’s had a great year. I know he’s going to continue to do what he does. It’s special.”
Lindor’s latest big game further bolstered his already-impressive year: .272 average, .843 OPS, 30 homers, 84 RBIs, 37 doubles, 26 steals, plus high-end defense at shortstop.
Everything he does the rest of the month comes in the context of the playoff chase, yes, with the Mets (75-64) sitting a half-game back of Atlanta for the last National League wild-card spot. But it also matters to Lindor’s MVP bid.
“It’s been an unbelievable season to watch,” president of baseball operations David Stearns said before the game. “We’re getting to the point where we’re talking about perhaps the greatest individual position player season in the history of this franchise.
“I’ve been around some really special seasons. I’ve been around some MVP seasons. This is right up there with anything I’ve seen on a day-to-day basis.”
With less than four weeks remaining, Lindor is far from the favorite for the top NL honor. That unofficial title goes to Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers’ two-way star who in his year off from pitching is on track for an unprecedented 50-homer/50-steal season. But Lindor is putting together a compelling case.
“It would be a dream,” Lindor said. “But right now I’m just trying to play winning baseball. And we’ll see where we’re at at the end of the year. And hopefully we’re in the postseason. If it happens, it would be a dream. It would be something extremely special.”
The Mets were hitless the first time through the batter order against Boston righthander Kutter Crawford (six innings, two runs) when Lindor came to bat in the bottom of the third. Jeff McNeil had drawn a walk.
“I felt like in that inning when he hit the homer, if we could get a guy on and get him up to the plate, something special is going to happen,” said Peterson, who collected a career-high 11 strikeouts in six innings (one run).
That is exactly what Lindor did, planting Crawford’s cutter over the rightfield wall. It wasn’t a moonshot — traveling an estimated 369 feet — but Lindor knew it, walking down the first-base line as he watched it fly.
“I love that. I want those moments,” Lindor said. “In April, I had those moments as well, I just didn’t come through. Now I’m coming through.”
Lindor extended his career-best on-base streak to 32 games, which is also the longest active run in the majors.
And in reaching the 30-homer mark for a fifth season, he joined Alex Rodriguez (seven times) and Ernie Banks (five times) as the only shortstops to do so.
The Mets had other highlights, including Reed Garrett’s double-play grounder from Masataka Yoshida (to strand the potential tying and go-ahead runs in the top of the eighth) and Pete Alonso’s 31st homer (to cap the busy bottom of the eighth).
Those, though, did not come with the same kind of faith as Lindor’s moments.
“Once I’m in the box, I just let things happen,” Lindor said. “I’m glad it kind of feels like that for people outside.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
