Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

Francisco Lindor entered the Mets’ series opener in Oakland riding a modest three-game hitting streak, but was hitting just .227 on the season. However, he had a huge night to help power the Mets to a 17-6 victory.

Lindor tied a career-high with a seven RBI night as the Mets feasted on the A’s. Both Lindor and the Mets took full advantage of a lack of control from the pitching staff, setting a new franchise record with 17 walks on the night. Twelve of those walks came within the first five innings and it helped to set the tone for what was an offensive explosion from the Mets.

“It’s great. It ended up with us scoring a lot of runs,” Lindor said when asked about the sheer amount of walks the Mets tallied on Friday. “Walks nowadays are like hits and it was huge. No one was trying to be the hero, we really focussed on trying to get a good pitch and if it wasn’t there we take it.”

Lindor hit the ball hard his first time up but flew out to right fielder Ramón Laureano. In the second inning, Lindor came to bat with the bases loaded following four straight walks and drilled a first-pitch change-up from James Kaprielian 439 feet for a grand slam, capping a six-run rally. The slam was the sixth of Lindor’s career and his third as a Met. It was also the second-longest homer he’s hit with the team. Entering Friday night’s action, Lindor was hitting just .191./.357/.286 from his left side without a homer.

The shortstop flew out to Laureano again in the fourth inning, but came to bat with the bases loaded in the fifth after another series of walks. Batting right-handed, Lindor drilled a line drive down the left-field line for a bases-clearing double, extending the Mets’ lead to 11-3. After flying out in the sixth, Lindor concluded his night by drawing a walk against former Met Jeurys Familia.

Lindor’s ability to come up in the clutch with two big hits that helped to blow the game wide open was certainly the driving force behind the Mets’ success. You need to be able to beat up on the bad teams and Lindor made sure he took full advantage of the looks he was given all night long.

“I had the same approach that everyone before me had,” Lindor said after the game. “Get a good pitch, be patient, try to hit it and try to drive it. They just didn’t get the pitch, I got the pitch so (Friday) was me, (Saturday) will be someone else. That’s the beauty of having a good team. It was one of those days and we came out on top and that’s good for our offense.”

Lindor became the first Met to drive in at least seven runs in a game since José Bautista drove in seven against the Phillies on August 16, 2018. This is the second time Lindor has driven in seven runs in a game, with the other time coming on July 2, 2018, against the Royals for Cleveland. He also tied the franchise mark for most RBIs in a game by a shortstop and third by a player overall. The record is held by Carlos Delgado, who had nine in June 2008. Lindor had struggled mightily with men on base this season, having gone just 6-for-27 with one homer in those situations entering Friday. Additionally, he improved upon his .368 career batting average at the Oakland Coliseum, which is his highest mark at any ballpark.

If his offensive exploits at the plate wasn’t enough, Lindor also flashed his elite glove in the field. In the bottom of the eighth, the star shortstop made a leaping grab to snatch a Jace Peterson line drive out of the air and retire the side. It was yet another example of how great Lindor is at the shortstop position, and that he’s a real game-changer on both sides of the ball.

With his big night, Lindor vaults himself from 31st to the top spot in the NL in RBIs (15). He also has taken over the team lead in that category from Pete Alonso. Lindor was always going to be one of the straws that stirred the drink for this offense in 2023, and he showed on Friday just how deadly he can be when he’s operating at the full peak of his powers. The key now will be to maintain some consistency for an offense that has struggled through the opening weeks of the 2023 season.

“It feels good. There’s not too many days that my body aligns and feels good from both sides and (Friday) was one of those days,” Lindor said. “We celebrate (Friday), turn the page soon as we get to the hotel and focus on (Saturday).”