Lindor making MVP case after blowout win vs Padres

The Mets blow-out the Padres for the second time in three nights. Plus, Francisco Lindor continues to make his unlikely MVP case.

What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️

• The Mets blew out the Padres for the second time in three games, winning by a 7-1 score in San Diego on Saturday night (box)

• SS Francisco Lindor continued his MVP push, going 2-for-5 with two home runs (27) including a grand slam and five RBI

• LHP David Peterson was sterling once again, going 7.1 innings pitched while allowing just one run to lower his season ERA to 2.85

• Peterson now leads Mets starting pitchers in ERA this season

• CF Harrison Bader came off the bench late and connected on a solo home run (9) to add onto the scoring

• RHP Dedniel Nuñez returned from the injured list in style, striking out three of the five batters he faced over 1.2 scoreless innings to close out the victory

• The Mets improved to 4-2 over the first six games of their difficult stretch of the season and are now 5-1 against the Padres this season

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Playoff Race 🏁

With the Braves winning again on Saturday, the Mets remain 2.5 games back of Atlanta for the final Wild Card spot in the National League.

There are 32 games remaining.

Per FanGraphs, the Mets have a 22.4% chance of making the postseason.

New York has the ninth most difficult schedule in MLB the rest of the way.

Tiebreakers:

• vs. ATL: 5-5

• vs. ARI: 2-2

• vs. SD: 5-1 (clinched tiebreaker)

• vs. CIN: 2-1

• vs. STL: 4-2 (finished)

• vs. SF: 2-4 (finished)

• vs. PIT: 5-2 (finished)

• vs. CHC: 4-3 (finished)

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Injury Updates 🏥

• RHP Paul Blackburn received a clean CT scan after being struck by a ball on Friday night and is hopeful he can make his next start vs the Dbacks on Thursday

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Francisco Lindor, NL Ranks:

• 6.5 fWAR (1st)

• 27 HR (t-5)

• 89 R (3rd)

• 78 RBI (9th)

• 25 SB (t-6th)

• 135 wRC+ (7th)

• 4.1 BsR (t-5th)

• .830 OPS (10th)

• 14 outs above average (3rd)

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Down on the Farm 🌾

• RHP Tylor Megill (Triple-A): 4.2 IP, H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K

• C Kevin Parada (No. 25 prospect, Double-A): 2-for-4, 2B, RBI

BOX SCORES

Single-A STL | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR

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Today’s Game 🗓

Match-up: Mets (68-62) vs. Padres (73-58)

Where: Petco Park — San Diego, CA

Starters: LHP José Quintana (6-9, 4.57 ERA) vs. LHP Martín Pérez (3-5, 4.67 ERA)

When: 4:10 PM EDT

Where to Watch: WPIX

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The unlikely Francisco Lindor MVP case… ✍️

At the start of this season, there were plenty of people trying to run Francisco Lindor out of town. And it wasn’t just the shock jock fools like Brandon Tierney, but a large portion of Mets fans who were setting their sights on the franchise shortstop.

I wonder what those people have to say now.

Saturday night was just the latest in a display of feats that Lindor has been putting up for several months now, as the club’s star infielder clubbed a pair of home runs – including a grand slam – and drove in five of the team’s seven runs in their blowout win in San Diego.

Following the victory, Lindor is hitting .269/.341/.490 with 27 home runs, 34 doubles, 78 RBI, 25 stolen bases, 89 runs scored, an .831 OPS and a 6.4 fWAR on the season. Not only does that fWAR already match the second best for a single season in his career, but it also ranks as the highest mark of any player in the National League this season.

That’s right – even ahead of Dodgers phenom Shohei Ohtani, who going into Saturday night was sporting a 6.1 fWAR on the season.

With the way Lindor has played for the last several months and where his overall stats this season, it is forcing us to ask a question that no one ever expected this season: Is Francisco Lindor a legitimate candidate to win National League MVP?

It really is a shocking turn of events, as the often underrated and over-criticized shortstop was hitting a paltry 193/.268/.348 with seven home runs and 22 RBI over the first 47 games of this season. It was this stretch when many wanted to run Lindor out of the door, and even people such as myself were fairly calling him out (as well as the rest of the team) for his low level of play at that point of the season.

It’s no coincidence, either, that through those first 47 games where Lindor was struggling so mightily, the Mets had a 21-26 record and had five teams ahead of them for the third Wild Card spot in the National League.

Since May 20th, Lindor is hitting an absurd .311/.380/.567 with 20 home runs, 26 doubles, a triple, 56 RBI, 19 stolen bases (2 caught stealings), 61 runs scored and a .947 OPS over 83 games played. In that time span, the Mets are 47-36 and have vaulted themselves back into the playoff picture.

As Lindor goes, so do the Mets. But is that enough for him to be the MVP?

Right now, as incredible as he’s been, it seems to be a bit of a long shot. For whatever reason, despite his star status in Cleveland, Lindor has been oddly under-appreciated and overlooked in his time in New York. And this isn’t solely the fault of his own fans but the national media as a whole, as well as the other players in the league. Despite having a 22.3 fWAR since joining the Mets in 2021 – the second highest in the National League over that time behind Freddie Freeman – Lindor has made the All-Star Game zero times and has been snubbed for just about every award and accolade that you can think of.

In addition to that, he’s going up against Ohtani who is rightfully the darling of the league playing on the most star-studded team there is in baseball right now. Ohtani is a unicorn and could very well be the first player to reach the 50 home run/50 stolen base mark, which has never been accomplished by any player in a single season. It’s historically been difficult for a player with offensive numbers that don’t stack up vs a player who has far more star power, and is on a better team.

When you factor all of that in, it’s likely going to be tough for Lindor to beat out Ohtani, and that’s even if the Mets do manage to find their way into the postseason. If they ultimately miss out, I don’t think Lindor’s offensive numbers are anywhere remotely close enough to Ohtani’s where it’s going to sway enough voters to pick him over the best player on the best team, even with the WAR numbers being what they are.

Regardless, the fact that this has now turned into an Ohtani vs. Lindor discussion for the National League MVP with just one month to go is nothing shy of a miracle after how this season began. It is a true testament to how hard Lindor has worked and how immensely talented this player is.

It’s amazing to think that there are fans out there who still somehow think that Lindor is overpaid. At this rate, you could almost argue that he’s not making enough money for how much value he is providing the Mets. This is a player who came to this team with massive pressure and expectations after the organization both gave up a sizable trade package (at least at the time) for him and gave him a mega contract extension. In spite of some rocky moments, especially early on, and fans who seemingly have wanted him to not succeed, Lindor has become the heart and soul of the Mets and that has just been really special to witness.

"MVPs are not won in June and July,” Lindor recently told ESPN’s Jeff Passan. “MVPs are won in August and September."

Well… here we are.

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Around the League 🚩

• The Braves won for the sixth time in their last seven games, defeating the Nationals by a 4-2 score

• The Dbacks won their fifth straight game behind another sterling start by RHP Zach Gallen and beating the Red Sox ,4-1

• Phillies C J.T. Realmuto drove home seven runs as LHP Ranger Súarez returned from the injured list in the club’s 11-2 drubbing of the Royals

• The Yankees were blown out on Old-Timers’ Day, losing to the Rockies by a 9-2 score

• Dodgers DH Shohei Ohtani crushed his 41st home run on his quest for a 50/50 season, but L.A. lost in extra innings to the Rays, 9-8