On Friday night, Francisco Lindor exited the game with an 11-3 victory over the Phillies. But it came at a cost—an injury! Francisco Lindor has what the New York Mets called ‘lower back soreness’ and is now listed as day-to-day. He hurt his back while trying to turn a hit into a double in the sixth inning. Lindor was surprised by how close the play was and then got tagged out. And to make matters worse, his back tightened up during the game, which means he had to exit the game early on. 

Lindor’s sore lower back now cost him his first game of the season on Saturday against the Philadelphia Phillies. Plus, this isn’t great news for the team, given that he was showcasing Gold Glove-caliber defense and shaping up to be quite a contender for the NL MVP race. He has great stats standing at 270/.341/.493 with 31 homers and 27 steals. But there is a piece of good news—Lindor is looking to make a comeback soon and support the team for their post-season chase. 

Francisco Lindor hopes to make it to the lineup ASAP, makes his “goal” clear

Francisco Lindor had a plan—to play every game of the season. But with that sore back, the possibility that he would play all 162 games for the Mets this year ended. “That has never been my goal. My goal is to be available every single day for the manager to put me in the lineup. But if, today clearly wasn’t… Hopefully, I can play the next 14 games that we have left,” Lindor said after the Mets lost 6-4 to the Phillies. But if Lindor did end up playing 162 games, it would have been quite the feat.

The only Mets player who managed to play every game in a regular season was Felix Milan in the year 1975. John Olerud did play 162 games too, but that season the Mets played 163 games so technically — he missed one.

Francisco Lindor was on his way to join the club, but well, life happens. Now Pete Alonso has chances if all goes well for him. It must be tough for Lindor to sit this one out, and he has even tried his best to make it back to the lineup. But Carlos Mendoza asked him to relax now! 

Manager Mendoza explained, “He wants to play. But at the same time, he knows I don’t want to put him in a situation where he is overcompensating and that leads to something else. I thought it was best that he at least rests the first few innings of the game, and then we’ll see what happens.” A rested Lindor means a healthier Lindor—so it’s better that he rests up and comes back strong for the home stretch!

Luisangel Acuña impresses with a stellar debut against the Phillies

The New York Mets recalled the 22-year-old Luisangel Acuña from Triple-A Syracuse on Saturday to fill in for Francisco Lindor. And he made his presence known at the very first game, with his stellar big league hit in the fourth inning. He knocked a single off Taijuan Walker, the Phillies pitcher, and hit the ball with a whooping 100.5 mph exit velocity on a 91.5 mph sinker. Well, surprisingly, this hit was extremely similar to the one his brother Ronald’s first hit back in 2018! 

But Acuña wasn’t done just yet. Yet again in the ninth inning, he added another single, this time—a 274-foot hit with more exit velocity than before at 102.6mph going 2-for-4 in his debut game. Mendoza was more than happy with their choice of player, saying, “Good to see him fight and get us going in the ninth. I thought he was good.”

And Carlos Mendoza isn’t wrong, Acuna is good and in the Triple-A, he was hitting a .258 with seven homers, 50 RBIs, and 40 steals. Now granted, he came into the team when things were heating up with the playoffs approaching. But it’s also a golden opportunity for him to prove his worth–helping the team when they need him most.

Do you think he can keep up the momentum? Let us know in the comments.