Lindor’s Two Homers Power Mets Past Marlins

Monday night was a must-win for the Mets.

They entered the night with a 1-2 record against the Marlins in the series and couldn’t afford a series loss to the measly 25-64 Marlins.

The club needed something. A spark to get the Mets a win before heading to the Bronx to face their cross-town rivals. And luckily, it was a familiar face that led them to the promise land.

Francisco Lindor powered the Mets to a 6-4 victory over the Marlins, going 2-for-4 with two homers in Miami. The shortstop’s big game was a breakout, as Lindor was a mediocre 3-for-12 with no extra-base hits and only one run scored in the prior three games.

The first homer came in the fourth against Marlins’ starter Yonny Chirinos and was a no-doubter. It extended the Mets’ lead to 4-1 and tacked on another run after Jeff McNeil drove in Jose Iglesias with a sac fly.

The second blast, however, was the true difference-maker. The long ball came in the top of the ninth against JT Chargois and gave the Mets a much-needed insurance run.

The homer gave the Mets a 6-3 heading into the ninth for Edwin Díaz, who was shaky yet again in Miami. If not for Lindor’s homer, Díaz would have faced red-hot Jake Burger with the winning run at second instead of at the plate.

Fortunately, it didn’t matter for the Mets. Díaz closed the game. Lindor played hero with the two homers. And McNeil continued his breakout second half with his third homer to jumpstart the Mets offense.

“Great player,” Carlos Mendoza said after the game. “And he continues to have really good at-bats, continues to get on base. And today, for him to go oppo in this ballpark, that’s pretty impressive. Great player, so yeah, not surprised by it.”

Francisco Lindor extends the Mets’ lead with his second long shot of the night! pic.twitter.com/lsGXQ6gDZ9

— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) July 23, 2024

Still, Monday night’s win can be credited to Lindor, who’s having another fantastic season. The Mets shortstop is now slashing .256/.335/.464 with 19 homers and 20 stolen bases. He’s on pace for a consecutive 30/30 season as a Met and would join Howard Johnson as the only other Met to have multiple 30/30 seasons under his belt if completed. (Lindor would also be the only shortstop to have multiple 30/30 seasons.)

Lindor continues to be a machine at the plate. Yet he still might be underrated by most who spectate the game. Lindor wasn’t an All-Star again this year, somehow doesn’t have a gold glove in a Mets uniform, and is within grasp of having the most fWAR among National League shortstops (Elly De La Cruz entered Monday with 0.2 more fWAR).

2024 might go down as another year where Lindor is underappreciated. But as the team continues to win and write their unlikely story of making the playoffs, maybe he’ll finally get the recognition he deserves.

Monday night was another showing of greatness. And we should all take it in while it’s in front of us. The Mets shortstop will get another shot to show the league his stardom tomorrow against the Yankees, who he holds a career .315 batting average against with 10 home runs in 51 games.

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