Lindor’s 4K day ends with painful pop-up
Three days ago, Francisco Lindor carried the Mets to a much-needed, road-trip-closing victory with a pair of home runs.
On Saturday, he struck out four times and popped up with the bases loaded to end a second straight dismal home defeat.
It’s been that kind of start to the season for the star shortstop: one step forward, two steps back.
“It’s one of those that I had a couple of opportunities I could’ve helped the team, whether it was scoring runs or saving runs,” Lindor said after the Mets fell to the Cardinals, 7-4, at Citi Field, losing their second straight series. “It’s one of those, you try to look back, you try to go play by play, and you’re not happy with it.”
He added: “I’ve got to put the ball in play, that’s the bottom line. It’s an uphill fight for me. I have to stay the course, keep climbing. Just have to have better at-bats.”
The notoriously slow-starting Lindor struck out in his first four trips to the plate, but he had a chance to atone in the ninth. Trailing 6-0 at one point, the Mets loaded the bases with two outs and sent Lindor up as the potential game-winning run. He swung at the first pitch he saw from closer Ryan Helsley, but failed to get on top of the 101 mph fastball, popping up to shortstop Masyn Winn.
“When you have four strikeouts, you swing,” he joked when asked what his approach was in that instance. “I thought it was a good pitch for me to hit. It was a pitch right there. I just missed it.”
After going 0-for-5, Lindor is back on the interstate, hitting .198 along with a .626 OPS. He swung at six pitches out of the strike zone Saturday and, after chasing a fastball in the dirt in the eighth, he let his emotions get the best of him. Lindor sprinted to first base on the wild pitch, but while he beat the off-target throw, he ran out of the baseline, running too far onto the grass. Lindor had to be restrained. Later, he admitted the correct call was made.
“They got it right,” he said. “Bottom line, they got it right. So hats off to them. I was definitely too much in the grass.”
It was part of a forgettable day for the Mets’ shortstop — one of many so far for him in this young season.
Mark Vientos is back with the Mets after a disappointing demotion to Triple-A Syracuse at the end of spring training.
He got the call after Starling Marte was placed on the bereavement list, which means Vientos’ stay in Queens might not be long, but he’s responded well since March.
“After having a tough end of spring training, when he got the news that he’s going down, he put his head down, [went] down there, continued to work,” Carlos Mendoza said before a 7-4 loss to St. Louis at Citi Field. “All the credit to him. He’s performing, he’s earned it, and he’s here.”
Vientos started the game on the bench, but he was called on to pinch-hit for the lefty-swinging Brett Baty in the seventh and flied to right. He singled with one out in the ninth.
Vientos, 24, has swung the bat well at Syracuse, hitting .302/.388/.535 in 23 games with five home runs and 22 RBIs. It remains to be seen if the power-hitting infielder will only be with the Mets until Marte returns or if he can stay longer. Mendoza mentioned using Vientos at third base and DH.
He’s not worried about the future, stressing the importance of taking it day by day. It was a mentality he tried to take after getting sent down to the minors and it has served him well.
“I’m confident in my ability,’’ Vientos said. “I was just going there doing my job for the team I was playing for [at Syracuse]. Learning, and absorbing.”
➤ Drew Smith became the latest Mets reliever to hit the 15-day IL, as the right-hander was sidelined with right shoulder inflammation.
They are already without Brooks Raley, also on the IL with left elbow inflammation.
Mendoza said Smith first complained of experiencing tightness following his appearance against the Dodgers last Saturday then again following an outing Tuesday in San Francisco, when Smith allowed two runs in one inning after getting a few days off.
Mendoza added that the Mets did receive “some type of good news” regarding the injury since the MRI exam only showed inflammation in the area.
“So we don’t anticipate this being long-term,” Mendoza said. “I hope within this two-week span we’ll get him back.”
Dedniel Nunez was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse to take Smith’s spot in the bullpen and tossed a scoreless inning.
Mendoza acknowledged the heavy reliance on the bullpen so far “is not ideal.”
➤ The rotation should get a boost next month, as Kodai Senga continues to make progress from the shoulder injury that’s shelved him since spring training. He is scheduled to face hitters Monday for the first time since suffering the injury.
And Tylor Megill struck out six batters in two scoreless innings for Class-A Brooklyn on Saturday in his first rehab start since a shoulder strain landed him on the IL. He threw 31 pitches.
Senga isn’t eligible to return from the 60-day IL until May 27.
➤ A day after J.D. Martinez’s impressive Mets debut, in which he had a pair of hits, the 36-year-old was back in the lineup at DH on Saturday. He went 1-for-4 with three strikeouts.
Mendoza has said he will monitor Martinez’s health as he comes back from the back tightness that delayed the start to his season.
“He’s fine,’’ Mendoza said. “We’ll take it dayby-day.”
➤ With Francisco Alvarez on the IL, Mendoza was asked if Omar Narvaez would start the majority of games behind the plate, but Mendoza said that would not be the case, saying there would “definitely be opportunities for [Tomas] Nido.”
“I think this is a 50-50 situation,” Mendoza said of the playing time. “I felt like [Saturday] was a good day to get [Narvaez] in there. Nido will play maybe [Sunday]. We’ll go by matchups and things like that.”
➤ Baty is one of several hitters that have fallen back into a slump, entering Saturday in a 2-for-21 funk in his previous seven games — and 2-for-19 since returning from hamstring tightness.
“It’s one of those stretches when he’s not getting results,’’ Mendoza said. “I checked with him and his hamstring is fine.”
Baty walked and scored in the fifth before being replaced by Vientos in the seventh.