Carlos Mendoza made a compromise.
The Mets supervisor wished to present Francisco Lindor a uncommon day without work on Sunday because the shortstop continues to take care of a fractured pinky toe.
However Lindor wasn’t having it.
“We went back and forth last night after the game, and we settled on [him being] the DH,” Mendoza stated earlier than Sunday’s recreation at Citi Subject. “Get him off his feet a little bit, but trying to keep his bat in the lineup, obviously his presence. With the off day coming up [on Monday], trying to buy some extra time there.”
Sunday’s sequence finale towards the Tampa Bay Rays marked Lindor’s first recreation because the designated hitter this season.
Every of his earlier 68 begins got here at shortstop.
Lindor suffered the damaged bone in his proper foot when he was hit by a pitch on June 4 towards the Los Angeles Dodgers. He didn’t begin the following two video games, however he entered the second as a pinch-hitter and delivered a game-winning double towards the Colorado Rockies.
The 31-year-old leadoff hitter then began the following seven video games at shortstop.
“I don’t think this is something that he’s going to have to play through the whole year,” Mendoza stated Sunday. “We feel like at some point the fracture will heal.”
Lindor entered Sunday batting .282 with 14 house runs, 38 RBI, 13 stolen bases and an .835 OPS.
He was 9-for-30 (.300) within the eight video games since he returned from the toe damage.
“It’s getting better,” Mendoza stated of Lindor’s toe. “It’s all about pain tolerance. It feels like, day by day, he’s getting better. There’s better days than others, but what I’m getting from the trainers is [that] hopefully in the next couple of weeks, he’ll be a lot better.”
Luisangel Acuña made his third begin of the season at shortstop on Sunday.
SPIRITED SENGA
The Mets’ ace was recognized with a Grade 1 pressure — the bottom degree of severity — on Friday and is about to be re-evaluated after two weeks.
“He’s going to continue to try to keep his arm moving, which is a good sign,” Mendoza stated Sunday. “He’s not being completely shut down. He was already saying [on Saturday] that he felt better than he did before, so, definitely, he’s in a better place.”
Senga’s absence dinged a Mets beginning rotation that entered Sunday with an MLB-best 2.82 ERA however that has confronted adversity of late.
Tylor Megill surrendered six runs (three earned) in 3.2 innings in Saturday’s loss and owns a 5.52 ERA over his final three begins.
Frankie Montas (lat pressure) has a 13.17 ERA in 5 minor-league rehab begins, prompting questions on his position when he joins the MLB roster.
However Mendoza stays assured within the Mets’ depth.
“Overall, I feel good, especially with guys like Montas, Sean [Manaea], where they’re at in their rehab process. We have some reinforcements coming,” Mendoza stated. “But we’ve got to keep going, and we feel good with what we have.”
ON THE MARK
Mark Vientos will start a rehab task for a proper hamstring pressure on Tuesday at Triple-A Syracuse, Mendoza stated Sunday.
Vientos, 25, landed on the injured checklist on June 3 after hitting .230 with six house runs by means of 53 video games.
Mendoza didn’t know what number of rehab video games Vientos would wish, saying, “We’ll see how that goes.”
ADDED RELIEF
The Mets added a contemporary arm to their bullpen earlier than Sunday’s recreation, calling up right-hander Tyler Adcock from Triple-A Syracuse whereas optioning right-hander Justin Garza to Syracuse.
That is the second call-up of the season for Adcock, who recorded one out in a scoreless look on Could 1. He has a 4.50 ERA in 18 appearances at Triple-A.
Garza, in the meantime, has made three scoreless appearances for the Mets — together with on Friday and Saturday — since being acquired from the San Francisco Giants this month.
