Mets' Francisco Lindor homers twice, drives in five vs. Nationals as hot streak continues

Mets' Francisco Lindor homers twice, drives in five vs. Nationals as hot streak continues

Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor had his finest game since arriving in New York over the offseason on Saturday, homering twice as part of a three-hit, five-RBI effort in the first game of a doubleheader versus the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park.

Lindor, who entered the afternoon hitting .209/.308/.333 (82 OPS+) with six home runs on the season, put the Mets on the board with a two-run shot in the first inning. The ball left his bat traveling 101.8 mph and carried some 384 feet, per Statcast. Take a look:

Lindor drove in another run in the third, this time on a single, to make it 3-0 New York. He then hit another two-run homer in the fifth to give the Mets what proved to be an insurmountable 5-0 lead. The Nationals did get a run back of their own on a Juan Soto single in the bottom half of the fifth.

Lindor's second home run registered an exit velocity of 110.9 mph and a projected distance of 414 feet. Those numbers are, again, courtesy of Statcast.

Saturday's game marked the 12th time in Lindor's career he had homered multiple times in a single contest. It was the first time he'd done so as a member of the Mets. Additionally, Lindor's five runs batted in tied for the second-most he's notched in his career, behind only a seven-RBI outing in 2018. He had previously not driven in more than two runs in a game since joining the Mets in an offseason trade.

While Lindor's overall numbers are well below his norms, he appears to be heating up. Including Saturday, he's now hitting .274/.366/.548 with four home runs in 71 plate appearances. Lindor's awakening is also apparent in his ball-tracking metrics: his average exit velocity in June (92.3 mph) is well above his previous monthly high (87.8 mph) this season.

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