Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Although his season has not been on par with his past success up to this point, Mets’ shortstop Francisco Lindor may have figured something out over these last few games after a trip to the barber shop. In his last five games, he is batting .267/.333/.800 with two home runs, two doubles, and seven RBIs. While this is certainly a small sample size, the exceptional display of power is a positive sign for Mets fans who have been clamoring for Lindor to return to his All-Star form.

In his postgame interview session with the media, Lindor jokingly credited his newborn daughter—his second—for his recent performance, noting, “Amapola has brought me a couple hits.” While his body language indicated the facetious nature of this statement, it would not be outlandish to say that the impending birth of his daughter was a contributing factor towards his drop play in the weeks prior. Despite their large stature in the baseball world, it is important for fans to understand that these athletes are human beings at their core that can be influenced by external factors.

Lindor was not the only one to find success in Monday’s contest against the Astros, as the collective offense was able to produce an astounding 11 runs in a landslide victory. Daniel Vogelbach and Tommy Pham were among the main contributors to this outburst, as they combined for four hits and four RBIs.

However, Lindor was clearly the star of the show as he went 2-for-5 with five RBIs that were headlined by a towering three-run home run that marked his 14th of the season. This home run traveled 361 ft. with an exit velocity of 99.4 mph, and it placed him in a tie with Blue Jays’ slugger Bo Bichette as the MLB leader in home runs among shortstops.

On the field after the game, Lindor humbly credited the communication among his teammates for the excellent offensive display.

“The guys that didn’t get hits today, they had amazing at-bats. And the communication in the dugout (was) very important,” he said. While it can be tempting to focus on the box score when evaluating a player’s performance, it is important to acknowledge the team aspect of baseball where the largest contributions may come from someone who did not put up a loud performance. It is also refreshing to see Lindor exhibit leadership qualities by uplifting his teammates through his powerful words.

Lindor’s home run and double came from the left side on Monday, and this is significant due to his widely known struggles from that side this season. To put his staggering splits into perspective, he was batting .197/.292/.340/.532 as a left-handed batter heading into Monday’s game, as opposed to .250/.299/.613/.812 as a right-handed batter. If Lindor can regain being a viable threat from both sides, that can change the course of the Mets’ season with the depth that he will add to the lineup. (It should be noted that even despite his recent performance, he’s on pace for over 30 homers and 100 RBIs.)

He acknowledged his struggles from the left side after the game. In a relieved tone, he said, “I was fortunate enough to put the ball in play.”

“It’s been tough to do it from the left side,” he added. “I just gotta continue to grind and put my head down and work as hard as I can.” Whether or not this game marks the start of a hot streak for Lindor, it is clear that he needed this performance to mentally move forward from his previous struggles.