PHILADELPHIA — Pitcher Francisco Lindor missed Saturday's first game of the season because of a sore back, eliminating the possibility of him playing all 162 games for the Mets this year.
“That wasn't my goal,” Lindor said after the Mets' 6-4 loss to the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. “My goal is to be there every day. … Hopefully, I can play the remaining 14 games.”
Felix Millan (1975) is the only Mets player to play every regular season game. John Olerud played 162 games for the Mets in 1999, but the Mets' total games played that season was 163, due to a one-game tiebreaker against the Reds.
Pete Alonso still has a chance to play all 162 games for the Mets this season.
On Friday, Lindor left the game in the seventh inning with a “strained back” after driving past the base instead of sliding into second base for a double. Mets team president David Stearns called Lindor's injury a “muscle twist.”
The Mets recalled Luisángel Acuña from Triple-A Syracuse on Saturday, giving the 22-year-old infielder/outfielder his first major league start in place of Lindor.
Acuna was 2-for-4 with two singles.
“He looks very relaxed,” Lindor said, “but he had that same attitude in spring training and I feel after meeting him that that's the kind of guy he's going to continue to be. He was calm today. He played great today, he knew when to hit, when not to hit, when to be aggressive.”
According to head coach Carlos Mendoza, Lindor had tried to negotiate a deal with the team, but it was decided they needed to be cautious with Lindor, who is the team's best player and most irreplaceable asset.
“He wants to play,” Mendoza said, “but at the same time, I know I don't want to put him in a situation where I could over-exert him and cause something else to happen. I thought it was best to rest him at least the first few innings of the game, and then we'll see what happens.”
