Francisco Lindor called a team meeting Wednesday and said afterward the slumping New York Mets “have to get it done — we’ve got to have a sense of urgency, and we have to get it done.”
On Thursday night, Lindor lived up to his words.
Lindor and the Mets will look to end a trying May by piecing together a rare winning streak Friday night when New York hosts the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second contest of a four-game series.
Right-hander Luis Severino (2-2, 3.22 ERA) is slated to start for the Mets against left-hander Jordan Montgomery (3-2, 4.69).
The Mets earned a much-needed victory Thursday night, when Lindor went 4-for-4 with a homer and an RBI single before J.D. Martinez hit a tie-breaking solo homer in the eighth inning of a 3-2 win.
The victory was only the second in the last 10 games for the Mets, who are 8-19 this month and 23-33 overall. The latter record is the third-worst in the National League, ahead of only the Miami Marlins and Colorado Rockies.
New York’s trying season hit a nadir Wednesday with a 10-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The players-only meeting was overshadowed minutes later when reliever Jorge Lopez — who threw his glove into the stands after he was ejected during a six-run eighth inning — told reporters he’s “been looking (like) the worst teammate in probably the whole (expletive) MLB.”
Lopez was designated for assignment Thursday, hours before Lindor laced a leadoff single against Zac Gallen. His homer, in the third, began the comeback from a 2-0 deficit for the Mets, who tied the score on Lindor’s seventh-inning single.
The four-hit game was the 10th of Lindor’s career, but he said there was no connection between his offensive outburst and his role in the team meeting.
“It felt good to contribute to a team win,” he said. “This is not about being the main character of a whole team meeting. That’s not what this is about. Anybody could have a good night tonight and I would have been happy. Just worked out it was me. Tomorrow it’s going to be somebody else.”
New York also received good news on first baseman Pete Alonso as a CT scan on his right hand showed no broken bones. He was hit by a pitch from James Paxton of the Dodgers on Wednesday.
Though he didn’t start Thursday, Alonso delivered a pinch-hit double in the seventh inning and scored the tying run.
Meanwhile, the slumping Diamondbacks, who have lost four games in a row to fall six games under .500 at 25-31, needed a full team effort from their pitching staff to piece together nine innings Thursday night. Six relievers appeared after Gallen recorded no outs and had thrown just six pitches due to a right hamstring strain.
Gallen, who left a start against the Seattle Mariners on April 26 with a tight right hamstring, said he felt discomfort while throwing his final pitch to Lindor. The right-hander threw one more pitch, a ball to DJ Stewart, before exiting.
Ketel Marte hit a two-run double in the second on Thursday, and the trio of Brandon Hughes, Justin Martinez and Joe Mantiply preserved the narrow lead until Ryan Thompson surrendered Lindor’s RBI single and J.D. Martinez’s homer.
“I think we’re all heartbroken over Zac,” Thompson said. “That’s a real tough blow. I’m not sure what’s going to happen with that, but we’ve got to pull together. I mean, this is a team sport, and it’s been tough, but we’re going to come (Friday) ready to do what it takes.”
Severino didn’t factor into the decision last Saturday, when he allowed one run and two hits over seven innings as the Mets fell to the San Francisco Giants 7-2 in 10 innings. He has never opposed the Diamondbacks.
Montgomery earned the win Saturday after giving up two runs over six innings in the Diamondbacks’ 3-2 victory over the Miami Marlins. He is 0-3 with an 8.40 ERA in four career starts against the Mets.
–Field Level Media
