Francisco Lindor made Mets history on Thursday afternoon, and wasted no time doing it.
The veteran shortstop cranked the third pitch of Thursday’s series finale against the Nationals into the left field seats for a solo home run, the eighth time this season that he has led off the game with a homer.
Those eight leadoff blasts are a new Mets record for a single season.
The tone-setting homer off MacKenzie Gore was much needed for New York after Wednesday’s deflating loss to the lowly Nats. It was also the continuation of a hot streak for Lindor, who entered the game hitting .517 with three home runs and four doubles in his last 32 plate appearances. His previous two months had been dreadful, but the All-Star is clearly rounding back into form offensively when the Mets need it most.
Lindor’s leadoff bomb was his 25th of the year, as he approaches a third straight season in which he reaches the 30-homer mark.