Francisco Lindor may be finding his swing.
For the first time since July 23-25, he has strung together consecutive multi-hit games.
The star shortstop homered and had two other hits in the Mets’ 4-3 loss to the Braves on Thursday at Citi Field.
“I’m getting the barrel to the baseball,” he said. “There’s a lot of people in the hitting group fighting for me and want it for me. It’s on the [upswing] right now. Try to ride that wave as long as I can and stay true to myself.”
It has been a rough few months for Lindor, who posted a .628 OPS in June and .629 in July after getting off to such a strong start.
His recent production is a good sign for the struggling Mets, who have dropped 13 of their last 15 games.
Mark Vientos is the odd man out right now.
Thursday marked the fourth straight game the power-hitting third baseman was on the bench.
Ronny Mauricio and Starling Marte have each started twice in that span.
Brett Baty has begun to play almost every day again at third base.
“There’s a healthy competition. We got three guys for one spot, three third basemen, or you can make a case we have four really good players for two spots with the DH,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “It could happen. We saw a stretch where Brett Baty didn’t play for five games. And now he gets an opportunity, and he’s performing. Marte, with the way he’s swinging, the message is you have to stay ready because it could happen fast.”
It has been a frustrating season for Vientos, one of the stars of the Mets’ run to the NLCS a year ago.
After hitting 27 homers and producing an .837 OPS last season, Vientos has suffered through a sophomore slump, going deep only seven times in 291 at-bats, and he is 4-for-22 in August.
He has just one homer since May 28.
Mendoza reiterated that Clay Holmes’ spot in the rotation isn’t in jeopardy despite his recent struggles.
Holmes was shaky Tuesday against the Braves, blowing a four-run lead while allowing six hits and five earned runs in 3 ²/₃ innings pitched.
It marked the second time in three starts the former reliever couldn’t get past the fourth inning.
“He’s going to keep getting opportunities,” Mendoza said.
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