The Mets had the best record in the National League in July, going 14-9 for the month. However, August hasn’t been as kind, and they have yet to win a game in the month, getting swept by the Royals in Kansas City and getting routed by the Orioles in their series opener in Baltimore. Despite the teams’ woes, Francisco Lindor continued to be productive for the Mets in Friday night’s contest.
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After homering in his last at-bat in Kansas City, Lindor worked a full count before roping a double into centerfield in the first inning against Dean Kremer. Unfortunately, the inning ended when Lindor was picked off after an early jump on a steal attempt. Lindor had another solid at-bat in the fourth inning, battling back from an 0-2 count before flying out to left field on the seventh pitch of the battle.
Lindor’s biggest plate appearance of the game came in the sixth inning with the Mets trailing 2-0 and the bases loaded with one out. On a 1-1 pitch, Lindor dug out a low change-up from Kramer and dropped it in front of Ryan O’Hearn for a two-run single, evening the score. After the Orioles put the game out of reach, Buck Showalter had D.J. Stewart pinch-hit for Lindor in the ninth inning.
Lindor now has 24 doubles and 69 RBIs on the season. On June 4, Lindor saw his OPS drop to a season-worst .688 after he went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. Since then, he’s been the Mets’ most consistent bat, owning an OPS upwards of .920 in 207 plate appearances, raising his OPS to .793. He’s also walked in 13.5% of his plate appearances and cut his strikeout rate down from 25.9% to 21.3%.
Francisco Lindor has 69 RBI this season.pic.twitter.com/FKSRwU0bOX
— Mathew Brownstein (@MBrownstein89) August 5, 2023
While his surface numbers may indicate this as a down season for Lindor, his batted-ball data shows that he’s been a little unlucky. He has career highs in hard-hit rate, average exit velocity, barrel rate, and sweet-spot percentage. In fact, he has 37 barrels this season after putting up 42 in 2022. In addition, he currently holds a career-best in xwOBACON (expected on-base percentage after contact) and has his highest xSLG, ISO, and xwOBA since 2018. Despite the career highs in statistics that measure hard contact, Lindor holds just a .253 BABiP, the second-lowest mark of his career.
As the Mets continue to fall in the standings, Lindor will continue playing almost daily, providing fans at least one reason to continue watching this lost season. These last two months of the season can serve as a building block for him and the rest of the lineup heading into 2024.