Photo: Francisco Lindor takes time out to soak up city charm ahead of much-anticipated London Series opener
Ahead of the two-game London series between the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies, Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor was out touring the capital city of England on Friday. Lindor took to Instagram to share a picture of him on the sidewalk adjacent to one of the famous red buses of London. The post was captioned:
"Cheerio from London!"
Take a look at the image here:
The Mets head into the London Series fresh off sweeping the Washington Nationals, credit to some good offensive productions Lindor, while the table-topping Phillies (44-19) swept the Milwaukee Brewers in their recent series.
The MLB London Series first began in 2019 as an arrangement for Major League Baseball to play a select few regular-season games in London. The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox kicked off the series in 2019, as Boston was considered to be the home team, but lost both games to the Bronx Bombers, 17-13 and 12-8, respectively.
The COVID pandemic impacted the 2020 London series game between the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs. Ultimately, the London Series resumed in June 2023, and the Cardinals were termed the home team this time around. The Cubs won the opening game of the series 9-1, while St. Louis took the second game, 7-5.
In June 2023, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced the 2024 London series to be played between the Mets and Phillies at London Stadium, which is the home stadium of English soccer club West Ham United in the Premier League.
In this NL East series, a subpar NY Mets (27-35) will be hopeful of some decent offensive productions from their stars like Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo.
Francisco Lindor is finding his rhythm on offense with the Mets this season
Francisco Lindor is leading the offensive charts for the Mets in RBIs (31) and hits (59) this season. He has smashed the second-highest number of home runs this season for the ballclub (10), sitting behind Pete Alonso (14). Lindor has a batting average of .235 and an OPS of .713 for the season so far.
After starting slow this campaign, Lindor is finding his rhythm again at home plate, reading pitches well while showcasing good plate discipline.
Game 1 of the London Series between the Mets and Phillies kicks off on Saturday.