July 23rd, 2024
Paige Leckie
@paige_leckieMIAMI -- After three quiet days at the plate, the Mets are headed back to New York with a bang, in large part thanks to their leadoff hitter.
Francisco Lindor opened the four-game set Friday with his fourth consecutive game with two walks. He finished the series Monday -- in the same place that, in May, the Mets decided to bump him up to the No. 1 spot -- with his second multihomer game of the season.
Lindor’s two home runs were just a fraction of the Mets’ offense as they pulled off a 6-4 win over the Marlins to split the four-game set at loanDepot park.
The next week will be crucial for New York, as the Mets face the Yankees for the second half of the Subway Series, then play the division-rival Braves in a four-game series before the July 30 Trade Deadline. So, let’s take a look at some of the highlights of the finale and some of the trends from New York’s first set out of the All-Star break.
Lots of Lindor
Lindor was mostly playing small ball in Miami: He went 3-for-12 in the first three games, with three singles, three walks and just one run scored. That is, until he cranked his 18th homer of the year to right field in the fourth inning for a 4-1 lead. The long ball gave the Mets some room for error, as the Marlins scored single runs in the fifth, seventh and ninth.
Then, Lindor -- hitting from the left side -- gave the Mets a much-needed insurance run to open the ninth inning, swatting an 86.6 mph slider from reliever JT Chargois into the Marlins’ bullpen in left field.
“For him to go oppo here, in this ballpark -- that's pretty impressive,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Great player. So yeah, not surprised by it.”
“As soon as I hit it, I'm like, ‘I think I got that pretty good,’” Lindor said. “But like [Mendoza] said, it's hard to go the other way here. And he said that in the dugout, too, and I was in my own world. I was like, [nods head] -- I just gave him, like, a little head nod. But yeah, it's not easy. Even pull-side here, it can get tough at times. But you know, that's baseball. Today I guess the ball was flying for me. … It's a good day.”
‘Happy Jeff’
Lindor joked postgame that he likes “happy Jeff [McNeil],” and for good reason. McNeil opened the series in Miami with his second career multihomer game. Though it wasn’t enough to carry the Mets to a win, it certainly set the tone for his performance this series.
With Starling Marte likely out for at least a few more weeks, if not a month, McNeil’s performance on both sides of the ball has been crucial. On Monday, it was McNeil who got the offense going in the second inning, launching a two-run homer to right field after DJ Stewart worked a walk to lead off the frame.
In the fourth inning, McNeil lofted a sac fly that allowed Jose Iglesias -- who had turned a surefire double into a triple to lead off the inning -- to easily trot home.
“He was fantastic,” Lindor said. “It's really good. He's giving quality at-bats after quality at-bats. He seems happier -- I like happy Jeff. And his defense, [he] continues to come up big in big situations. You know, second-half Jeff can be very dangerous. So hopefully we can go for two, three more months.”
Bader’s back?
Harrison Bader, who arrived at the ballpark on Monday clean-shaven -- supposedly at the request of his mother -- picked up a pair of hits in his first two at-bats to end an 0-for-16 skid.
Not only that, but Bader also showed off his defense in center field, making a sliding catch in the eighth to rob Otto Lopez of a hit, a play that had just a 50% catch probability. But even when the Marlins had balls fall for hits, Bader made heads-up plays.
When Xavier Edwards singled to left-center in the fourth inning, Bader took the perfect route, getting behind the ball with a view toward first to keep Edwards from even attempting to take second base.
“Not only the diving play, but there was one when he went in the gap and kept that runner at first base, something that you probably don't see on the box score,” Mendoza said. “... A huge game for him.”
