This is no longer just a positive trend.
It’s not like there will be consecutive weeks of impressive at-bats.
For Francisco Lindor, it was a long six-week stretch in which he performed at an elite level.
“The biggest change is he’s playing like the All-Star, MVP candidate that we all know and love,” teammate Brandon Nimmo said after the pair combined for six runs to lead the Mets to a 7-5 victory over the Nationals on Tuesday night at Citi Field. “It’s just unbelievable what we’re getting out of him right now. … Him being who he is and playing the player that we know him to be is really giving this offense a boost.”
Since May 21, Lindor has played in 43 games with nine home runs, 26 RBIs, 27 extra-base hits, 10 stolen bases and 33 runs scored.
During that time, he’s batting .316 with a .912 OPS.
As Nimmo said, it’s no coincidence that the Mets’ offense revved up during that period and the team started winning.
Since May 29, they are 23-12 with a losing record and a shot at the final National League wild-card spot.
What’s unclear is how much Lindor’s move into the leadoff spot has contributed to his torrid six weeks.
Coach Carlos Mendoza has been looking for ways to reinvigorate the offense, but said he doesn’t expect that move alone to be a magic bullet for Lindor.
The shortstop has typically been a slow starter, and this year he was no exception, batting just .195 with an OPS of .634 on May 1.
Those numbers have improved significantly since then, and Lindor is currently batting .253 with a .776 OPS, both season highs.
It wasn’t until May 18th that he moved to the top of the batting order.
He probably won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
“I’m feeling better. I was supposed to be feeling better,” said Lindor, who had three hits on Tuesday, including his 16th homer of the year. “I’m batting leadoff and I’m feeling good, but at the end of the day, it was the same last year and the year before and the year before that. April just wasn’t on my side. The team is doing well and I’m happy to be able to help the team win.”
