The New York Mets defeated the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday afternoon and increased their lead in the NL East to 2.5 games.
It was a much-needed victory against a direct opponent in the fight for the postseason.
As he usually does, shortstop Francisco Lindor was a key contributor in the victory.
He hit a three-run home run off Braves starter Charlie Morton, and finished the afternoon 1-for-5 with two runs and three RBI.
With the trio of RBI, he already surpassed last season’s tally.
Yes, we haven’t even reached the All-Star break and Lindor already eclipsed last year’s total of 63.
“Francisco Lindor RBIs last season: 63. Francisco Lindor RBIs this season: 64,” Newsday’s Tim Healey tweeted.
Francisco Lindor RBIs last season: 63.
Francisco Lindor RBIs this season: 64.
— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) July 13, 2022
That tells us two things: one, Lindor has been having a better season overall; and two, the Mets are much, much better than their 2021 version.
An Impressive RBI Tally For Him
After Wednesday’s game, he is hitting .244/.317/.433 with 16 home runs and a .750 OPS.
Last year, he had a .734 OPS.
He still has room to improve, considering his performance in past years when he routinely eclipsed the .800 OPS mark.
However, he has been doing some timely hitting, and the Mets are putting more people on the basepaths for him, which likely explains his elevated RBI tally.
In any case, the Mets, while they would like to see his overall offensive output improve a bit (we can’t really measure a hitter’s worth by using RBI as an evaluator), certainly won’t complain if he keeps driving in runs at this pace.
He is currently projected to have his first career 100-RBI season.
That’s something to be celebrated, as the Mets seem destined to make the postseason.
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