Finally, the avalanche of ineptitude and dysfunction got to Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor.
Taking a 1-0 lead over the Brewers in Milwauke in the top of the second of Saturday’s middle game on Pete Alonso’s franchise-record-tying 252nd home run, New York pitcher Frankie Montas — whose first year in Queens has been nothing short of a disaster — loaded the bases.
With two outs, Milwakuee’s Joey Ortiz hit a chopper up the middle — a tough play given his speed, but not an impossible one. A rushed Lindor, who is usually a sure thing at short, booted it; the ball deflected off the tip of his glove and rolled into shallow center field to score a pair.
“[Montas] made the pitch to get us out of the inning and come out with a clean inning,” Lindor said. “I wasn’t able to execute and finish the play for him. He’s a guy that’s been going through it, and I wanted to be there for him.”
Following the inning Lindor stormed into the dugout, took off his glove and slammed it on the bench three times.
“I take a lot of pride in defense,” he continued. “For me, the pitchers, they work as hard as they can. They study the hitters, they have a gameplan, they execute the pitch. If it’s a ground ball to me, it’s on me to finish the play for them. That’s the frustrating part of this. Montas did everything right, and I wasn’t able to come through for him, but I’ll learn from this one and get better.”
The gaffe was a key one. The Brewers ultimately went on to win 7-4 to extend the Mets’ misery. Entering Sunday’s series finale in Milwaukee, they have lost 10 of their last 11, including six straight, and trailed the Philadelphia Phillies by 4.5 games.
Lindor’s continued struggles has provided the concerning backdrop amongst all of this. Along with his error, he went 0-for-5, including a strikeout with the bases loaded in the top of the second. Since the All-Star break, he’s batting .176 with a .525 OPS, and it justifiably appears to be getting to the normally even-keeled, often jovial leader of the Mets.
“I have to be better,” Lindor said. “I have to pick up my teammates, I have to be there for my teammates and I have to finish the plays. On offense, defense, or baserunning, bottom line is I have to be better.”
Of course, it has not been squarely on Lindor. While other big bats are slumping, the fundamentals of a usual sound team are disappearing. In the seventh inning with the game tied at four apiece, Ryan Helsley looked as though he induced an inning-ending grounder to third, but Ronny Mauricio booted it to bring in the go-ahead run.
The next batter, William Contreras, lined out to right field, but it was brought back for a pitch-clock violation on Helsley. On the very next pitch, he broke the game open with a two-run home run.
“We just continue to make mistakes,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We’re not playing good baseball, especially when you’re playing against teams like this, you’re giving extra outs, extra bases. They’re going to make you pay, and that happened.”
