LOS ANGELES – Francisco Lindor literally gave the double doors in his hotel room The Finger, leaving the Mets’ suddenly surging shortstop on the bench for the first game of this measuring stick series against the Dodgers.
Manager Buck Showalter indicated Lindor caught his right middle finger in the doors after the Mets’ arrival in town Wednesday night. Luis Guillorme started at shortstop on Thursday.
There was some thought Lindor might be available off the bench, but Showalter didn’t want to broadcast the team’s plans prior to first pitch. Lindor said swelling in the finger was affecting his throwing more so than his hitting. Showalter tried to find the silver lining.
“Actually I have been looking for a day to give him, so maybe that is a blessing in disguise,” Showalter said at Dodger Stadium. “But he’s kind of disappointed, obviously, he wanted to play tonight.
“We haven’t played a third of the season. I’m surprised something like this hasn’t happened before. It kind of accentuates how fortunate he’s been, kind of playing shortstop day in and day out.”
Francisco Lindor’s hot streak is on hold as he rest his injured finger.Robert SaboLindor entered Thursday on a tear, playing at a level befitting of a top player on a first place team. It’s the first real strong dose the Mets have received of Lindor in games that matter.
Among his most conspicuous accomplishments was a streak of at least one RBI in 10 straight games – Mike Piazza was the last Mets player to achieve that. But over his last 18 games, Lindor was 22-for-68 (.324) with three homers, 24 RBIs and 10 walks.
Maybe the best part for Lindor is he hasn’t been asked to carry the team. With players such as Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, Brandon Nimmo and even the utilityman Guillorme heavily involved, the pressure is hardly on Lindor to become a one-man show.
“That is part of what we were trying to reiterate at the beginning of the season, I think,” Nimmo said. “Even though we only had that small portion of spring training … on this team it felt like every guy didn’t have to have it every single day. It’s not on one person’s shoulders.”
After four straight All-Star selections with Cleveland, the Mets shortstop was shut out last summer, and not by accident. It’s unlikely the same kind of down time will be part of Lindor’s itinerary this July.
Nimmo said the “energy” Lindor brings each day to the club is the most notable aspect of his game.
“It’s very positive and uplifting and he wants to make others better around him,” Nimmo said. “That is an attribute that has to be learned. You take care of yourself first. You try to learn, ‘How do I stick around?’ And then as you mature as a player you try to figure out, ‘How do I make the others around me better.’ He’s really taken on that role and that’s one thing I appreciate about him is how he cares about the other teammates and makes the whole team go, not just himself.”
