Francisco Lindor’s stretch as an almost automatic out has been replaced by the opposite end of the results spectrum.
The All-Star shortstop had a fourth straight multihit game Saturday, helping the Mets score enough to get Nolan McLean a victory in his major league debut.
A night after Lindor smashed two homers, he went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base.
It left Lindor 10-for-16 with six RBIs in his past four games.
“I am riding a good wave right now for sure,” said Lindor, who owned a .634 OPS over his previous 60 games before his multihit streak. “I am sure I am going to at some point go down, but as long as I limit the length … just try to ride this wave as long as I can.”
Lindor’s third-inning double gave the Mets their first run on this day.
In the seventh, his single and stolen base helped fuel a rally in which the Mets scored twice.
Lindor’s stolen base was his 20th, giving him a 20/20 season (homers and stolen bases) for the fifth time in his career.
He is the first shortstop in major league history with five such seasons.
McLean became the sixth Mets player to debut in the major leagues this season, joining Hayden Senger, Jonathan Pintaro, Blade Tidwell, Justin Hagenman and Alex Carrillo.
The right-hander became the first pitcher drafted by the team to win his initial MLB appearance since David Peterson in 2020.
Manager Carlos Mendoza said the decision to DFA Paul Blackburn after Friday’s game was “not an easy one,” but the Mets needed the roster spot for McLean.
The veteran Blackburn had one appearance with the club after returning from the injured list Wednesday.
Blackburn owned a 6.85 ERA in seven appearances for the club this season.
Juan Soto, with his 30th homer of the season Friday, became the ninth player in franchise history to reach that plateau in his first season with the club.
Frank Thomas, Dave Kingman, Gary Carter, Bernard Gilkey, Robin Ventura, Mike Cameron, Carlos Delgado and Pete Alonso are the others.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
