Mets superstar joins Cal Ripken Jr., Derek Jeter, Miguel Tejada in rare club with homer vs. Red Sox
New York Mets superstar Francisco Lindor cemented himself alongside baseball greats after a rare feat in Wednesday's game against the Boston Red Sox. Lindor became just the fourth shortstop in history with at least 10 home runs in 10 of his first 11 seasons, joining Hall of Famers Derek Jeter and Cal Ripken Jr., and Athletics great Miguel Tejada.
In the top of the ninth inning, Lindor smashed a solo shot off Boston Red Sox reliever Sean Newcomb that carried deep to left field and cleared the Green Monster at Fenway Park before falling back. It marked his 10th home run of the year.
The solo bomb gave the Mets a 5-1 lead, which they maintained until the end in the series-closing game in Beantown. Lindor went 2-for-5, with the aforementioned home run being one of his two base hits for the night.
Lindor is batting .283/.351/.480 with an OPS of .831, 10 home runs, 29 RBIs and nine stolen bases.
On an interesting side note, Lindor could have had at least 10 home runs in each of his first 11 seasons if not for the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign wherein he tallied eight.
The Mets superstar's highest home run tally in a year is 38, which he accomplished in 2018. When he was still a member of the Indians, Lindor finished sixth in AL MVP voting after leading the league in runs scored at 129.
Mets dodge embarrassing sweep in Boston
The New York Mets barely escaped an embarrassing sweep at the hands of the Red Sox in their three-game series. The visitors closed out the set of fixtures with a 5-1 win in Game 3.
The Red Sox limited the National League squad to a solitary run in the first two games. The Mets' bats came alive in the final game as Brett Baty's two-hit and three-RBI game, in addition to Juan Soto and Lindor's contributions, were enough to put Boston away.
Although they won the series-closer, the Mets have now surrendered the NL East lead to the surging Philadelphia Phillies, who hold a 31-18 record. Philly has been on an upward trajectory, having won eight of its last 10 games, including six straight.
Coming up next for the Lindor-led squad is a bigger task as they host the Dodgers on Friday to kick off a three-game series. First pitch is at 7:10 p.m. Eastern.