Mets' Francisco Lindor looking to stay consistent after 'huge' home run vs. Dodgers
The Mets just blew a 4-0 lead, all the momentum was on the side of the Dodgers when Francisco Lindor came up in the top half of the seventh inning.
Starling Marte was on second and all Lindor needed was a single to give the Mets the lead. Instead, Lindor launched his second home run of the season to put the Mets up in their 9-4 win against Los Angeles on Friday night.
It was a cathartic moment for the Mets who felt the momentum return to them and for the All-Star shortstop who crossed home plate where Marte met him, and the two embraced in a hug.
"When you have teammates and people pulling for you, and have results like that, I tend to release more of my emotions," Lindor explained after the game. "Marte’s been by me, stuck with me and he’s the first person I see so I gave him a hug."
"It was big for him to come through in that situation when we lost the lead. It was huge, to get the momentum going," manager Carlos Mendoza said. "He’s a really good player and he’s going to get going. It was good to see."
Lindor's early-season struggles have been well-documented. He entered Friday's game batting just .151 and less than .100 from the left side without an extra-base hit, so the home run -- batting left-handed -- was great to see for the switch-hitting shortstop.
The 30-year-old explained that he felt close with his swings in recent games and even in his first three at-bats of Friday's game, but he came up empty. But the home run, followed by an infield single, gave Lindor a sigh of relief. He said that when he's hitting well from one side he tries to imitate the feeling in the other, which he admitted gets him a "little mixed up" but he feels the things he was doing well from the right side are starting to translate to the left side.
"I’m there and doing it right now. Now it’s just staying consistent with it," he said.
For the Mets, winners of five straight, they'll look to continue their winning ways against the Dodgers on Saturday afternoon, and hopefully Lindor's success can carry over throughout the series.
