New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor was not in the starting lineup once again for Thursday’s opener of a key four-game home series against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Lindor missed each of the Mets’ previous three games with a lower back injury and has played just two innings of the past five games.

Without Lindor in the lineup, the Mets swept their three-game series against the Washington Nationals. They are in possession of the National League’s third wild-card spot, two games ahead of the Atlanta Braves at the start of MLB play Thursday.

The Mets and Braves meet for three games next week in Atlanta.

Lindor had an MRI on his back that came back clean on Monday, but his timetable for a return remains in question. He was optimistic he would be back before the end of the regular season.

The 30-year-old had said he was experiencing back pain for two weeks as he tried to mount a bid to challenge the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani in the NL MVP race. Lindor is batting .271 with 31 homers, 27 stolen bases and is tied for the team lead with 86 RBIs in 148 games.

A veteran of 10 seasons, Lindor has batted .217 over his last seven games played, but in one of those games last week, he broke up a no-hitter in the ninth inning with a home run against the Toronto Blue Jays’ Bowden Francis as the Mets rallied for a victory.

–Field Level Media