Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Francisco Lindor this weekend had his best series of the year against his former team, the Cleveland Guardians. In Game 1 on Friday night, the 29-year-old racked up three hits, including a game-winning single in the 10th inning—continuing a trend of comebacks last week by the Mets. On Sunday, in Game 3 of the series (and the second game on Sunday), Lindor pulled the Mets even 1-1 with the Guardians with a solo home run off Shane Bieber.

It was as impressive of a home run as you’ll see off the bat of Lindor. He cranked a wrap-around knuckle curveball placed perfectly on the outside corner over the left-center field wall 404 feet away.

Overall, Lindor went 5-for-14 in the Guardians series with two extra-base hits and two RBIs. Those numbers are fine just reading them off a paper, but the context of his timely hits adds some needed context.

After his game winning hit Friday, he maintained his usual calm and optimism, and he expressed appreciation for the fans sticking with him during a below-average offensive year for him. Despite racking up doubles and an occasional home run, he started the series with a .225 average and an OPS just above .700.

The underperformance—along with the Mets’ recent struggles—was perfect fodder for commentators to debate again who won the trade between New York and Cleveland. This was the first time the two teams played since Lindor and Carlos Carrasco were dealt to New York in exchange for Andrés Giménez, Amed Rosario, and prospects.

Though Lindor “didn’t have much to say” about certain comments from the peanut gallery, he spoke with his bat. That must carry over to the road trip and beyond.

The team’s five-game winning streak against two of the better American League teams follows a terrible stretch of play against some of the league’s bottom feeders. They’ll now face the Chicago Cubs and Colorado Rockies, two sub-.500 teams who may be sellers in two months. Lindor’s struggles have come from not being able to put together a hot streak. The lulls, of course, happen. But he also hasn’t racked up hits, lacking any back-to-back multi-hit games.

But those will come. The Guardians series is a great turn-around point for Lindor. It’s time to keep it going as the team hits a much tougher stretch of the schedule over the next month.